City Shadows Arc 4: Keys of the Demon King
by Zephyros-Phoenix
Summary: COMPLETE - Sequel to Arc 3, DragoxOC, OCxOC. Shen Du has returned seeking eight magical keys to release his father, the Demon King! Along the way, Drago must face his past as a villain and an older brother he didn't know he had. Joining the Strikers is Remy's cousin, Renita, a deadly hunter. Can they prevent the Demon King from being freed? Or will Drago go back to his old ways?
1. Prologue

**Ah, that was a nice break. And I really needed it too! D-Sniper and I spent nearly an entire day just planning out everything we wanted to happen and now that we've got a good outline for the story, I can proceed with writing! I actually had this prologue written up a while ago, but I just didn't feel like posting anything until now.**

 **Now, like arc 3, this arc will be a "finding things" arc. I know it can get repetitive, but as with arc 3, we'll be trying to focus on other aspects aside from the objects the heroes and villains are searching for. Namely, Drago's redemption. Drago didn't get a lot of focus since joining up with the Strikers all the way back in arc 1 and I felt he just sorta fell into the background. That's why we came up with the idea of this arc bringing Shen Du back into the picture as a way for Drago to confront his past and truly move past it. Besides, both Mala and Linos had confrontations and resolutions with their families, why shouldn't he? His commitment to his friends and life as a good guy will be tested.**

 **NOTE: Some people have pointed out that I'm spelling Shen Du wrong. I don't believe I am. The show does spell it as Shendu, all one word, however, I choose to spell them as two separate words since they would be two separate Chinese characters. Besides, the other Demon Sorcerers names are spelled like that: Po Kong, not Pokong. So, I choose to spell it as Shen Du to keep it consistent.**

 **ALSO, I'm starting a new job next week so I won't have as much time to write as I normally do. Kinda nervous and excited at the same time. It's only part time but it's better pay than what I make now and I know I'll learn a lot more than I currently am. Let's just say, I know for a fact there's no advancement for me in my current job.**

 **And once again, while not required, it is recommended you read the previous story installments before reading this one.**

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It was dark, the only source of light being the bright glow from the moon high above in the sky and from the brightly lit city below. On the path leading up into the woods was a single black and blue motorcycle dashing through the night. When the rider spotted the sign signalling an upcoming exit, she gripped the handlebars and turned into the exit, slowing down as she went. She carefully gripped the brake and slowed to a stop in front of a large, old mansion, silencing the smooth hum of her vehicle. She reached her slender fingers up and pulled the helmet off, releasing thick locks of bright orange hair and revealing a beautiful blue-eyed face beneath. Stepping off the bike and putting the helmet on the seat, she carefully shook her hair and ran her fingers through to neaten her tangled strands. She pulled her hair back the right side of her head, leaving only a few, wild strands sticking up while pulling the rest of her hair to stay on her left shoulder. She walked up to the front door of the mansion and took the metal knock affixed to the door in her hand and knocked three times. She waited for a few seconds and no answer came. Just as she reached up to knock again, the door suddenly opened and the orange haired beauty came face to face with a handsome young man.

"Oh, uh, are you the exorcist?" he asked. She nodded. "You don't really look like an exorcist…" he commented, looking at her from head to toe.

"Were you expecting a priest?" she retorted.

"Actually, yeah. I mean, what's with all the weapons?" he asked, pointing to the sword on her back, the sais on her hips and the bow on the back of her waist.

"Dealing with demons isn't just spraying holy water and reading scriptures. It's far more complicated and far more dangerous," she said sternly.

"Is that the exorcist?" a female voice called from inside. The young man who answered the door rolled his eyes and sighed, moving aside and opening the door further as an older woman came into view. "Oh, I'm so glad you could make it here! The house has been doing some strange things since I inherited it from my mother."

"I told you, mom, it's an old house! It's not haunted!" the young man protested.

"Oh, don't listen to my son. He thinks I'm wasting my time with this, but I've tried everything! The last contractor I hired to inspect the place fell right through the floor on the second floor!"

"Because the wood is rotten and needs to be replaced! Not because it's haunted! You're wasting your money with this mom. Look, I don't mean to offend you but this is just ridiculous!" the man said to the exorcist.

"Do you mind if I take a look around?" she asked. The woman nodded eagerly and stepped aside so she could enter. "Oh, I didn't catch your name!" the woman called.

"Renita Ryder," she answered, stepping into the house and carefully examining everything in sight: furniture, artwork, even the floors and ceilings. "You said you inherited this house from your mother?"

"Yes, she passed away a few months ago and when I came up a few weeks ago to have a look around, well… I saw a ghost!" she fretted as he son simply rolled his eyes once more.

"The house isn't haunted, mom. The sounds you're hearing are probably just animals that got in!" he tried reasoning.

Ignoring her son, the woman continued with her story. "I think it might be my mother's ghost. Do you think you could speak with her? Find out why she hasn't passed on? Is there something I'm supposed to do?" she asked.

"There is a presence here," Renita spoke.

"I knew it!"

"Of course there is," the son remarked.

"But it's not your mother's ghost," she quickly added.

"Th-then what is it?" the woman asked, growing concerned.

Renita reached up to her neck and pulled the crystal pendulum necklace off. She held it out in front of her, allowing the pendulum to dangle from her hand. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, focusing all her energy on the pendulum. The woman and her son, who despite his skepticism, couldn't help but watch closely at what she was doing. All of a sudden, the pendulum began moving back to forth before quickly pointing straight ahead, pulling on the string, but Renita kept a firm grip.

"What does that mean?"

"It means that whatever is here is coming, fast. You don't have a ghost problem. What you're dealing with here is a malevolent spirit. They're attracted to empty houses and take on the form of deceased loved ones in order to lure in their prey. It's a good thing you called me when you did." Renita put the pendulum back around her neck and reached behind her back, pulling out the jian sheathed on her back. "Stay back," she cautioned as the pair moved behind her and stood in the doorway. "Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao, Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao." She repeated the chant over and over as the wind suddenly began to pick up. All of a sudden, a spectral creature appeared from the hall in front of Renita. The figure had a twisted, grotesque face and wild hair, screeching loudly in rage. Renita narrowed her eyes as the ghostly spirit dashed towards him and swiftly sliced through the ghost twice, leaving a glowing X marked on the ghost's chest. Renita turned away from the spectre and sheathed her sword as the spirit wailed loudly, the X on its chest growing brighter before exploding in a ball of light, leaving nothing behind.

"I-is it over?" the woman asked meekly.

"Yes, I've eliminated the spirit. Your house is safe."

"I-I can't believe it. This place really was haunted!" the woman's son said with wide eyes.

"I learned a long time ago that I shouldn't tell people what to believe, but rather let them learn for themselves what to believe. I suggest that you don't mention this to anyone, not even friends or other family. You don't want people to think you're crazy after all," she smirked.

"Oh, here!" the woman took out a large wad of cash and handed it to Renita. "It's all here, as agreed."

"Good. Take care," she said, pocketing the money and leaving the house. She climbed onto her bike and rode back into the city, which despite being in the middle of the night, was rather bustling with nightlife. She pulled aside to grab a quick bite to eat, leaning against her parked motorcycle as she ate. Suddenly, she stood up, eyes wide and alert.

There was a demon nearby and she had never felt such a strong energy before! Normally it was small and weak, like that of spirits and ghosts, but whatever it was nearby, it had to be a powerful demon. She quickly tossed her trash into the nearby garbage bin, put on her helmet and hopped on her motorcycle. She zipped through the street, following after the signal as best she could. She turned into an alley, feeling the demon's presence stronger than ever. She slowed her motorcycle and hopped off, carefully and stealthily creeping up to the end of the alley. Across the street, she could see a large delivery truck parked outside a museum as the building staff carefully loaded the truck with large boxes. At first glance, it didn't look like there was anything suspicious going on, but her senses were never wrong. There was a demon and it was here! She pulled off her pendulum and began focusing her power on it. The pendulum began floating and pointing up to her right. Renita looked up and saw a large, crouched figure perched on the rooftop with bright glowing red eyes. Before she had time to react, the figure jumped from the rooftop and onto the truck. Fire erupted from the demon's hands and mouth, frightening off the workers as they ran in panic. The demon leapt off the truck and onto the street, slowly moving to the still open back doors. Renita quickly stepped out of the alley and reached behind her waist, pulling out her compound bow and and quickly drawing back an arrow. She fired the first arrow and another two in quick succession, each hitting the truck and earning the demon's attention. The demon stared at her before narrowing his eyes and reaching for the large blade on his back. Renita narrowed her eyes back at the demon, collapsing her bow and instead drawing out the two sais on her hips. The two charged at each other and Renita easily blocked the demon's blade with her two sais.

"Aren't you a little young to be a slayer?" the demon taunted. Now that she was closer to it, she could see the demon's details more clearly. He was large, much larger than she was but that size would still be considered small by demon standards. Either he was a low class demon, or was still considerably young. He had a broad figure, dark green scaly skin and two large horns sprouting from the top of his head. He was covered in thick brown body armor and black, red and blue cloth.

"Aren't you a little small for a demon?" she shot back, which only made the demon narrow his eyes at her angrily.

"Hmph, you've got quite the sharp tongue, hot stuff," he grinned. "I wonder what else you can do with it," he leaned in to whisper.

Renita narrowed her eyes in disgust. She didn't like demons and she certainly didn't like it when they talked to her like that. Still holding his blade away from her with her sai, Renita swiftly brought her foot up to the dragon's crotch, causing him to drop his blade and clutch his croft in pain. Renita stepped back and spun, kicking the demon in the side of his head. He roared loudly and launched a fireball from his mouth towards her. Renita quickly swapped out her sais for the jian on her back and easily sliced through the fireball, leaving the demon puzzled.

"Surprised? You should be. This is a special material enhanced by Chi Wizardry to cancel out demonic magic," she explained. "Now, what is it you're after?" she asked sternly.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" he teased with a grin. The two kept their eyes locked on each other until they heard the sound of sirens in the distance, getting louder as they grew nearer. "Sorry, hot stuff, but that's my queue to leave!" he demon declared, reaching for his fallen blade. Renita was about to advance and stop him, but he threw two fireballs just in front of her, creating a roaring wall of flame. Renita raised her arm to shield herself from the heat as she stepped back. "Maybe I'll see you again, beautiful!" he called, his voice sounding farther away than before. Renita narrowed her eyes and moved around the flames to chase after the demon, but he was nowhere in sight. She tried sensing his presence, but felt nothing nearby.

"He's fast…" she muttered. And she still hadn't found out what he was doing or what he was looking for. Powerful demons like this one rarely did things on their own; they usually had lesser demons to work for them. It was rare for a higher class demon to be out and about like this, and she had a feeling that whatever the reason, it couldn't be good. Hearing the sirens getting louder, Renita quickly sheathed her sword and ran back to her motorcycle, fleeing the scene before the police could arrive. As she reached the temporary apartment she was staying at, she couldn't help but recall the demon calling her "hot stuff" and "beautiful". What on earth was that about? She had never known a demon to be a flirt, perhaps it was some psychological tactic to throw her off her game? Maybe it was because she was a girl. Male demons always had the tendency to underestimate female opponents because of their gender. Yeah, that had to be it. Either way, she couldn't let a powerful demon like this one roam freely.

Once she got inside, she placed her weapons on the coffee table and opened up her laptop, quickly searching up the museum they were fighting outside of. "Hm… ancient weapons exhibit," she read. She looked at the dates and saw that yesterday was the final day of the exhibit here and that it was moving to Los Angeles for the next show. He had to have been looking for something in the exhibit. It wasn't uncommon for museum artifacts to actually be ancient and deactivated magical relics. She scrolled through the images of the artifacts that were on display, but so far, none of them stood out to her. She kept looking until she stopped at a large, thick bladed dagger. Compared to the other weapons in the exhibit, it certainly looked more ornate and detailed. She was about to brush it off and move on to the next artifact when something caught her eye. In the middle of the crossguard was a circle, and on that circle were three sets of lines. The top most was a solid line, but the middle and bottom had a break in between.

"A trigram…" she realized. Without another thought, Renita reached for her phone and dialed a number. "Come on, come on, pick up," she whispered, tapping her foot impatiently. When a voice on the other end answered, Renita spoke, "Hey, you still in Los Angeles? Good, I'm on my way. I'll be in the city in a few days. We need to talk."

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 **Curious to see these new characters? Head on over to my deviantart to see them and the objects this story will revolve around: Keys of the Demon King.**


	2. The Other One

**Well I guess I just couldn't keep my typing fingers away. There's just something so fun about writing the beginning of a new story! And the end! I guess that means the middle's not as fun. Maybe I just enjoy writing the beginnings and ends of stories more so that the endings.**

 **I know you guys probably don't care, but I just finished the first week of my new job. It's very exciting starting a new job, but also kinda scary. But everyone's really nice and I'm learning a lot. It's only part time with 3 days a week so it's not too bad. Plus I'm getting paid more $^$ Unfortunately, I get so worn out after and sometimes I just don't have the energy to draw or write, but I'm sure I'll manage somehow. I always do.**

 **Glad you guys enjoyed that first little prologue. Even if it didn't offer much beyond a first look at our two new characters, this chapter will have a lot more of that ;) Enjoy!**

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The sun slowly crept in through the blinds of the living room, signaling that it was morning and time to wake up. In the corner of the room lay a large brown scaly creature with sharp horns and spikes and six legs and a long tail that slowly tapped the floor every few seconds. The large, frightening beast was having a pleasant dream until the rays of the sun hit her eyes, rousing her from her deep sleep. She groaned and sat up, stretching in a downward-facing dog and then leaning forward to stretch her hind legs. She shook her body and yawned loudly just as a pair of alarms went off from behind two shut doors.

Almost immediately, both were silenced as one door opened and Remy came out in his pajamas, a plain black shirt and green shorts, while the other door remained shut. He yawned and rubbed his sleepy eyes before opening the door to Drago's room and sticking his head inside. "No snooze today. Get up!" he cried. Drago groaned loudly as Remy moved to the bathroom. "Morning An," he yawned sleepily.

An smiled and barked happily before turning her attention to the large, wing wrapped figure clinging to the ceiling. Looking up at him and wagging her tail, she barked loudly three times, trying to wake Liam up. Liam's wings twitched and he released his grip on the ceiling, flipped and landed on the couch. Like the others before him, Liam yawned loudly and stretched his arms and wings before reabsorbing them into his back and changing his feet back to human form. An watched happily as the three boys got ready for school, cleaned themselves up, dressed and ate. Liam reached into the fridge and pulled out a piece of raw meat and tossed it to An. She quickly caught the meat and easily roasted it in her mouth with her fire breath before gobbling it up voraciously.

"Why aren't we just feeding her dog food again?" Remy asked. "Meat's not exactly cheap."

"Technically An isn't a dog, she just takes the form of one when we're out in public," Liam answered.

"Besides, she's a demon. We like meat," Drago added, to which Liam pointed and nodded.

Once they were done eating, they grabbed their bags and started making their way out the door. "Hang on," Liam said, holding his hand out and stopping An. "An, remember?" An cocked her head in confusion before quickly remembering and transforming into a large German Shepard. "That's better," he laughed, waving for her to follow.

As they walked down the street to school, Liam lightly threw a tennis ball for An to fetch after. She dashed after it, sometimes fumbling to reach the bouncing ball before quickly returning it to Liam before the entire routine was repeated. Just as they turned a corner to the school, Mavis suddenly appeared hanging upside down from a large tree in front of the three boys. "Surprise Spider-man kiss! Too fast, can't catch me!" In a matter of seconds, Mavis planted a quick kiss on Liam's lips, jumped down from the tree and ran off towards the school entrance, giggling the entire way as Mala and Tim met up with them. Liam chuckled excitedly and chased after Mavis as she teased and taunted him.

"Were we ever that obvious and gooey?" Mala asked Drago.

"I like to think we were more subtle than that," he answered.

"And yet we've been caught in bed together at least three times now," she muttered.

"Who's fault is that? You said the danger of almost being caught excites you!"

"Shh! Do you want everyone at school to hear about our sexual exploits? And don't pretend that the danger doesn't excite you too," she noted, poking him on the chest with her index finger. Drago simply chuckled and put his arm around her waist as they walked in to class.

"Please stop talking," Tim begged from behind them.

Mala and Drago sharply turned around, momentarily forgetting he was there before muttering in unison, "Sorry, Tim."

When they heard the first warning bell ring, they quickly made their way inside the school. After sitting through their first few classes and eating lunch, the students gathered outside and began boarding large yellow buses. The entire bus ride was filled with chatter while Mavis simply sat quietly with her eyes darting back and forth. "Ok, if no one else is going to say it, I will. Does anyone else realize that we are having a field trip to the exact same museum we went to last year?"

Her friends stared at her silently, unsure of her point until Mala spoke up. "Well, it's a different exhibit this time: ancient weaponry."

"That's not my point! Exactly one year ago the four of us - you two weren't here yet for that part," she quickly said to Drago and Remy, "went to the same museum for a field trip as the one we are currently going to. The wheel has come full circle!"

"If that's the case, here's hoping we don't discover an ancient magical artifact that we have to later steal during a midnight break in," Liam remarked.

Mavis suddenly gasped and shouted loudly, "Callahan's Six!"

But Tim quickly silenced her with his index finger on her lip. "Nope! New school year means new, fresh start and I'd like my life to involve less sneaking around, breaking into place and stealing for the greater good. I need to focus on my studies if I want to get into a good university."

"Bleh, more school. Who would want that?" Drago complained.

"You guys aren't honestly considering higher education?" Tim asked, looking at all his friends.

"I don't see the point. I mean, what job in the real world could I even be good at? All I'm good at is fighting and setting things on fire! It would just be a waste of time for me," Drago explained.

"Drago's got a good point. I'm not even sure what university I want to go to, let alone what I want to study or if I even want to go at all! And it's not like finances are ever going to be a problem for me," Mala added. "I don't think there's any shame in taking a year or two off after graduating to figure out what you want. What about you, Remy?"

"Me? Well, before I even attended here, I was homeschooled. Demon hunting is all my family does and even if that doesn't pay well, I can make some money on odd jobs. I already am what I wanted to be when I was a kid."

"And no offense to you Tim, but I'm not sure if the fake identity you created for me would check out with university officials," Liam said next.

"Fine, rule out the three demons and one demon slayer as college students. Mavis, please tell me you've at least got a plan." Tim's request was met with silence and a cocked eyebrow from Mavis. "Right, look who I'm talking to."

"Besides, we're still just kids! We've got all the time in the world to figure out what we want to do!" Mala reasoned.

"Well, technically, I was born over hundreds of years ago, so I'd be older than all of you put together," Drago cut in.

"You and your mother traveled through time from the past. Doesn't count," his girlfriend quickly argued.

"You know, I've been meaning to ask, but is there some kind of human to demon age conversion or something?" Mavis asked, "Like how one year is equal to seven dog years."

"That's actually not an accurate measurement," Tim pointed out, but Mavis quickly shushed him.

"Now that you mention it, it's never really been clearly stated…" Liam said, leaving everyone pondering silently before Mala spoke up.

"Oh, Remy, so when is your cousin coming to the city?"

"She said she'd be here in a few days a couple days ago, so probably tomorrow or the day after," he answered.

"What's she like?" Drago asked.

"She's very strict and kinda scary, honestly. After my parents died, I went to live with her. She had already become a fully trained demon slayer so I completed my training under her. And believe me when I say she was at least ten times tougher on me than my parents ever were. She doesn't it show it much but she can be nice sometimes. I'm not saying she's mean or anything, which she can be, she's just… she takes Ryder traditions very seriously," he explained.

"Does she know about, you know, our predicament?" Liam asked.

"No, I haven't told anyone in my family. Well, aside from Reggie. Ren doesn't know the three of you are demons and she can't find out. I'd never be able to convince her you guys are good and I'd probably get myself and all of us killed trying to stop her."

"Is she that good of a slayer?" Mavis asked.

"She's in a whole nother league of her own above me. And be careful with even using your powers around her. Don't even transform at all. She's got this… sixth sense or something."

"Sixth sense?" Liam asked.

"It's hard to explain but she was just born with it. She can just naturally sense demons and spirits when they're nearby without the need for a spell, like the ones I'd use to track you guys down. But as long as you stay in your human forms and don't use your powers while she's here, we should be ok."

The bus stopped as it pulled up to the museum and students began shuffling off. An followed after their bus the entire drive, not struggling to keep up at all thanks to her demon physiology and speed. After listening to their teacher going through the rules and conduct, they were finally allowed to enter though An was forced to remain outside and wait for them. Mavis immediately ran off to the exhibit with the largest weapons with Liam and Tim chasing after her while Mala, Drago and Remy simply took their time with the first few display cases. They each examined the artifacts on display at their own pace, Mala in particular taking extra time to really admire the craftsmanship and detail while Drago waited impatiently for her to catch up. When he moved on to the next display case, he couldn't help but spot a large, fat bladed dagger. The blade was a dull green while the hilt and handle were dark grey with chunks of yellow dirt still clinging to it. He was about to move on until he spotted something familiar at the center of the guard: a symbol made up of three lines, the top solid and the bottom two broken.

"Mala, MALA!" he quickly called.

"What? What's the matter?" she asked, rushing over to him in worry.

"Look at that," he said, pointing to the symbol. "Tell me that's not a trigram."

"It is a trigram," she said. Noticing the worried look on his face, Mala quickly spoke up. "That doesn't mean it has anything to do with your family, Drago! The trigrams were originally part of the bagua from Taoist cosmology way before they became associated with the Demon Sorcerers in your family. It's probably just a coincidence," she said, placing a tender hand on his shoulder to relax him.

"Y-yeah, you're probably right. I'm just being paranoid."

"Drago, I know we never really talked much about how you've changed. I want you to know how proud I am of you over how far you've come," she smiled warmly.

Drago stayed silent, staring at the dagger in the display case before sighing and turning to Mala. "Yeah, thanks," he smiled. "I'm hungry, let's get something to eat."

Just as the young couple turned away from the display, there was an explosion in the ceiling. Thick, dusty smoke shrouded the area as people screamed in panic, trying to avoid the falling debris by taking cover. "Wh-what was that?" Mala cried, slowly pushing herself up.

"I don't know. Are you ok?" Drago quickly asked, helping her up as she nodded.

"To think you humans waste so much time building these displays for ancient garbage! Soon your time will be better spent on your new rulers!" Drago and Mala quickly turned their heads towards the source of the voice and saw a large, humanoid green dragon standing in the middle of the room. He was covered in armor and light robes and had a large green sabre attached to his back and bright glowing red eyes.

"Hold it right there!" the interloper cocked his eyebrow in curiosity and turned to see three security guards pointing their tasers at him before bursting out into laughter.

"Really? By all means, you're welcome to try!" he boasted, holding out his arms. The security guards exchanged hesitant looks at each other before firing their tasers. The cables quickly latched onto the dragon's chest and began sending electricity through his body, but he seemed completely unphased by it. Instead, he smirked and said, "My turn." With incredible speed, he tore the cables off his chest and roughly yanked on them, pulling the three security guards towards him. One by one, he knocked away the security guards with two kicks and a swift smack with his tail before chuckling, "humans… Now, what was I here for again? Oh, right!" The dragon turned his attention back to the display case. He casually ran his taloned fingers over the glass until he found what he was looking for. "Ah, here we go."

"Stay here," Drago whispered.

"Drago, wait!" she held out her hand to stop him, but he quickly dove behind a display case and remerged in his demon form. He formed a fireball in his hand and threw it right at the intruding dragon just as it broke the glass cover of the fireball struck him right at the back of his head and unlike with the tasers, the dragon noticed it this time. Growling under his breath and narrowing his eyes in annoyance, he turned before taking a step back in shock at the sight of Drago.

"You? Oh, oh this is just rich! Of course you'd be here! Why else would the old lizard even ask me to help him out! From what I heard, you handed him his own ass on a silver platter, though now that I actually see you in person, I don't see how a scrawny little pup like you could pull it off," the dragon commented.

"What are you talking about?" Drago shouted.

"What's the matter? You don't recognize me?" the other demon, feigning hurt feelings at being forgotten and unrecognized.

"Should I?"

"I would think so," he grinned. "I am your big brother after all.'

Drago's eyes widened in shock before narrowing his gaze in a stern look. "I don't have a brother, or any siblings for that matter!"

The larger dragon threw his head back in laughter. "You really think you're the only son of Shen Du?" Before Drago could even produce a response, the dragon let out a stream of blue flames towards him. Drago tried countering with his own flames, but the blue fire just tore right through them and struck Drago right in the chest, knocking him back against the wall. "Newsflash squirt! The position's already been filled!"

"Drago!" Mala shouted, which ended up drawing the dragon's attention to her.

"And what's your name, beautiful?" he asked smoothly. Mala said nothing as she quickly looked around. Once she saw that everyone had already run off from the danger, she wasted no time in changing into her demon form, which visibly shocked the dragon. "Well, a crystal demon. Now, that I wasn't expecting. Haven't seen one of you in a long time. I didn't think there were still any of your type left after that insurrection. The name's Da Long, it means 'greater dragon', but you can just call me Dragen," he said confidently.

"Save your flirts for someone who's actually interested," Mala remarked, sending a hail of crystal shards towards him. Dragen quickly countered by drawing his saber from his back and blocking each crystal shard and shattering them to pieces.

"Oh, that's how you wanna play, huh? All right, princess, I like a girl who can play rough!" Mala blinked only once and all of a sudden, Dragen was in front of her, ready to swing his blade. She couldn't move out of the way fast enough, but was able to form some crystals over his skin to block the attack as best she could. The force of the blow almost broke through, but did manage to sending her crashing through another display case, shattering the glass and knocking the contents over.

"Leave her alone!" Drago shouted, angrily glaring at his supposed brother.

"You wanna do this one on one? All right then," he said confidently as the handle of the sabre suddenly extended, turning the weapon into a guan dao. "I've showed you mine, now you show me yours."

"My what?"

"Wow, you don't know anything do you?" Dragen chuckled. "You're so weak that you haven't even spawned your own Demon Weapon yet?" Drago didn't say anything and just continued looking at his brother in confusion. "You call yourself the son of a Demon Sorcerer and you don't even know the first thing about a Demon Weapon? Allow me to give you a demonstration." Just as Dragen raised his guan dao overhead, he suddenly roared loudly and clutched his shoulder. Drago leaned to the side and saw two arrows sticking right out of Dragen's shoulders. He heard the sound of another arrow being fired, this time into the wall beside them as a long cable went straight up to the whole Dragen had burst in from. Suddenly, a girl with bright orange hair zipped down the cable on her bow, rolling as she landed and quickly drawing back an arrow.

"You should know you can't hide from me! I can find you no matter where you run!" she shouted, glaring at Dragen while carefully eyeing Drago and Mala cautiously as well.

"Well, if you were so desperate to see me again, Red, all you had to do was say so," he said casually, pulling the two arrows from his shoulder with his tail. "But things are getting rather crowded here and this family reunion has really worn me out. Until next time, Red," he winked before instantly disappearing, turning invisible.

The girl kept her bow drawn but relaxed her arms and lowered her bow, scanning around for any sign of the demon. "Dammit, that super speed of his has put him out of my range," she cursed, putting the arrow back in her quiver and collapsing the bow, placing it back on the back of her waist. She walked over to the display case Dragen had broken earlier, completely ignoring Drago, who just stared at her with wide, confused eyes. Before he could question who she was and what she was doing, Drago heard the rest of his friends arrive.

"Holy shit what the hell happened here?" Mavis exclaimed.

"Drago, Mala, you two all right?" Liam asked, running over to the two and helping them up.

"Ren? What are you doing here?" Remy asked, walking up to the red-haired girl.

"I did say I was coming over, didn't I?" she simply replied, reaching into the case and grabbing the large, broad-shaped dagger inside.

"That's not what I meant! Wh-what's going on? And, uh, I-I can explain… all of this," he said, gesturing to his two demon friends.

"Don't bother," she replied, swiftly turning around and throwing a knife into a nearby security camera. The camera sparked for a moment before exploding as other cameras exploded one by one after. "You should be more cautious of where you choose to transform. Just because no one's around to see you, doesn't mean there isn't someone or something watching. Lucky for you, I've hacked into the security system and erased the footage from today so your secrets are safe. Before you say anything else, meet me back at your place. I've got some stuff to take care of." With that, the girl disappeared out of the building, leaving the five teens to turn their attention to Remy.

"Uh, Remy who was that?" Mala asked, reverting to her human form.

"That was my cousin," he answered.

* * *

"Did you get it?" Shen Du asked as his son approached.

"Does it look like I have a key on me?" Dragen retorted.

"Then explain why you don't have it!" the elder dragon hissed.

"Arrgh, it was bad enough I had a slayer tracking me the entire time but you'll never guess who was there when I went to get the key."

Shen Du growled under his breath and narrowed his eyes angrily before muttering, "Jackie Chan…"

"No! Who even is that?"

"My mortal enemy! He has been a thorn in my side for long enough and I will make him suffer for what he's done to me."

"Right, I'm sure you can get your revenge on him like you did with Lü Dongbin and Lo Pei. Oh wait, you never got your revenge on them either! How many arch enemies do you even have?"

"Then if it wasn't Chan, who was it?" Shen Du yelled, growing impatient with his elder son.

"Whatever, it was Xiao Gou!"

"Drago? How did he escape from the Netherworld?"

"Yeah, because along with the magic key that I don't have, I totally have the answer to that question," he remarked sarcastically. "What even happened with him? The last I heard he and his human mother disappeared hundreds of years ago! Everyone assumed they were dead."

"His mother had a friend who was a Chi Wizard. She convinced him to create a time travel spell for her to escape to the future, where she hoped she and our son would be safe," he explained.

"Well, that explains why I've never seen hide nor hair of him. You honestly let them escape from under your nose?"

"Enough of your attitude! If Drago was present, then he'll likely figure out what we're planning. Perhaps we can recruit him to aid us," Shen Du pondered, "Only I'll have to keep a closer eye on him to make sure what happened before does not repeat itself."

"Somehow, I don't think that's going to happen. When I was taking the key, he was the one trying to stop me."

"What?"

"And he wasn't alone. There was a crystal demon with him before my stalker slayer showed up. And this crystal demon wasn't minion or scout class. She was very powerful. But I thought all the crystal demons - the powerful ones, at least - were practically gone after the insurrection."

"Crystal demon? It must be Lang Yan's half-breed then. I remember Drago was quite close to her."

"Really? You mean the little half-breed squirt managed to bag such a fine specimen? Unbelieveable," Dragen scoffed, hardly believing it.

"That's not important! We cannot allow your brother and whatever allies he has gathered to interfere with our work. Turning his back on conquest and ambition could not have been as easy as he'd think. He is my son after all; conquest is in our blood! Perhaps we can convince him to betray his allies and join us."

"And if we can't?" Dragen asked.

"Then we will kill him. The loss of a half-breed, especially my own is of little consequence to me." Dragen turned away as his father finished speaking and couldn't help but feel a but feel slightly put off by his father's statement. But he quickly pushed the thoughts from his mind. He had more important things to focus on.

* * *

 **I guess this would technically be the first "real" chapter, right? Prologues never really seem to count in chapter numbers XD Well, anyway, hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!**

 **Also, for those of you who are wondering because I have received some questions regarding this: when in public, An Gou assumes the form of a German Shepard. When the Strikers are at school, she follows after them to school and just waits for them outside... Or she'll go do her own thing and come back later. I'm sure she leads a very interesting side life while her friends are off learning.**

 **Next: The Strikers get to know Remy's cousin, Renita and learn about the legendary Demon King.**


	3. The Demon King

**So this was the last chapter of my writing blitz from a couple weeks ago... well not technically. I mean, I did already write up chapter 10 but between now and then, I haven't started anything XD No word on whether I'll get chapter 3 finished by next week or after that *shrug***

* * *

"That was your cousin?" everyone exclaimed as they followed Remy up the stairs to their apartment.

"Yeah, her name's Renita," he answered.

"But you said she wasn't going to be here for at least another day!" Mavis cried.

"Renita's practically unpredictable! But that's not what I'm concerned about. What I'm more worried about is how I'm going to convince her not to try and kill the three of you!" When they reached the door to the boys' apartment, they noticed it was left open. Cautiously, Remy pushed the door open and they stepped inside to see Renita in the kitchen. A teapot was resting on the stove, boiling, while she was looking through the cupboards.

"No rooibos," she sighed in annoyance. "I guess green will have to do." Ren reached up into the cupboard and pulled out a green tea bag as the kettle began whistling.

"How did you get in here, Ren?" Remy asked.

"Please, I learned how to pick locks when I was ten. I taught you, after all, remember?" she casually replied as she poured the boiling water into a cup and bobbed the tea bag in the cup.

"Right ok, well Ren, about what happened at the museum," Remy started but Ren silenced him when she held up her hand.

"Relax, I'm not gonna kill your friends," she said, blowing on her boiling drink.

"Y-you're not?" they all exclaimed in surprise.

"Not that I'm not satisfied with that answer, but why not?" Remy asked.

"Because they're not evil. Their auras' are as blue as they come."

"You can see our auras?" Mala asked, surprised.

"I thought humans couldn't do that! Only demons can!" Drago added.

"They can't. I'm just one of the exceptions," Ren replied.

"She was born with that unique sixth sense ability I mentioned earlier," Remy reminded. "Wait, if you could see auras all this time, then you knew not all demons are evil, right?" She nodded. "How come you never told me?" Remy shouted.

"Because you needed to figure that out for yourself! And think back, kid, with how stubborn you were, would you even have listened if it had been coming from me or anyone else for that matter?" she asked while Remy simply cast his eyes aside. "That's what I thought. Besides, you know me. I'm not exactly fond of telling people what to believe. I already run into enough skeptics as it is."

"Ok, well now that that's out of the way, what are you doing here? You weren't exactly thorough when you called me," Remy said.

"That dragon demon you were fighting, not you, the bigger one," Ren quickly added, glancing at Drago, "I've been tracking him for nearly a week. I had just finished an exorcism job when I sensed a powerful demon nearby. He was trying to steal something from a truck parked outside a museum. I did some research and the truck was transporting a museum collection to here, the very same exhibit you all were visiting earlier today.

"That other demon… He said his name was Dragen," Mala spoke.

"And he said he was my brother. But that's not possible! I'm an only child!" Drago protested.

"The only child of your mother and father, maybe, but demons aren't known for being monogamous, especially the male ones. They'll usually have several mates at a time, if not a whole row of concubines lined up. You can't deny that the two of you look similar: same skin tone, draconic appearance… Fire Demon Chi," she emphasized. "If he's your brother, then it's likely he's only your half-brother, paternal. He may not even be your only sibling, in fact, all of you might have half-siblings you don't know about," she said to the three teen demons.

Mala and Liam exchanged looks before she spoke up. "I think my mother would have told me if I had another sibling."

"Same," Liam added.

"Well, now that we've identified our mystery assailant, what does he want with a museum weapons exhibit?" Tim asked.

"I researched the items on display for the exhibit. For the most part, none of them appeared to be strange, just run of the mill, old ancient weapons. Except for one," she said, brandishing the large, broad green dagger from the display case earlier and placing it on the kitchen counter.

"Whoa, look at the size of that monster!" Mavis cried, leaning in over the counter to look at the blade. She reached out to grab it, but Ren quickly pulled her arm back to keep it out of the nosy Callahan girl's reach.

"Well then, what does a Fire Demon want with an old dagger like this?" Liam asked.

"Exactly what I was thinking. But then I saw this." Ren lifted the dagger and pulled the nearby cutting board over so she could set the blade on it's tip. "Look closely at the hilt."

As everyone else leaned in close to look, Drago didn't bother and instead spoke, "It's a trigram."

"Trigram? What's a trigram?" Mavis asked.

"Originally, the eight trigrams make up the bagua, which represent the fundamental principles of reality. Heaven, lake, fire, thunder, wind, water, earth and," Renita explained.

"Mountain," Drago cut in.

"Hold up, how come there are two for water? What about the moon trigram?" Mavis asked.

"While two the trigrams technically do stand for lake and water, the trigram for water is used to represent Tso Lan while the lake trigram is used to represent Bai Tza. In a way, it makes sense. The moon's gravitational pull affects the tides," Ren reasoned.

"Hm… ok that does make sense," Mavis conceded.

"The trigrams are also used to represent the Demon Sorcerers that were defeated and banished by the Eight Immortals: my father and his siblings. That trigram is the symbol of my aunt, Po Kong, the Mountain Demon Sorceress," Drago explained.

"Then do you know what this is?" Ren asked.

"No, I've never seen anything like that before in my life. Why does it have my aunt's trigram on it?"

"Because it was made from her power."

"What are you talking about? Made from her power?" Drago asked in confusion.

Ren cocked her eyebrow in confusion. "You don't know the legend… do you?"

"What legend?" Drago asked, growing impatient with her.

"About the Demon King."

"Demon King?" they all asked.

"I remember him," Liam spoke, "at least, I've heard stories. He's the most powerful demon in existence and he used to be the one who ruled this world before humans pushed demons back with Chi Wizardry. But one day he just disappeared mysteriously."

"It wasn't so mysteriously. He was imprisoned," Ren explained. She pulled out a laptop from her bag and opened a file as the others gathered around her.

"What's this?" Tim asked.

"I completely digitized the entire Ryder collection on demons and magic. It's a lot easier than carrying around an enormous pile of books, especially if you're on the move a lot like I am. Here is it," she said, scrolling down on one file. "You all know in ancient times how Demon Sorcerers used to rule our world, right? And how each Sorcerer had their own army of commanders, scouts and minions? Well, there was one rank above Sorcerer and that was the Demon King. All of demon kind answered to him. Even when humans discovered Chi Wizardry as a way to fight back against demons, it wasn't enough to defeat the king. So, they came up with an alternative: with the help of the Eight Immortals, each of them was able to syphon off a portion of one of the King's children's power and formed a key."

"But their powers were already syphoned off into the symbols of the Eight Immortals!" Drago added. He frowned at the memory of his involvement with those items and what he had almost done with their power.

"That's right, but that was an unintended side effect of the process that made the keys and banished the Sorcerers. Since the Demon King had all the same powers as his children, they believed that by stealing a portion of each of these powers, they would be able to devise a Chi spell that would allow them to suppress that power in the Demon King. And it worked. Each of the eight keys held a portion of one Demon Sorcerer's power. It not only allowed the wielder to use that power, but it also allowed them to cancel out anyone with the same powers."

"What happened next?" Mavis asked.

"With these eight keys, the Chi Wizards were finally able to confront the Demon King. They weren't able to banish him though. They had already exhausted most of their resources in banishing the other Sorcerers so they did the next best thing."

"Which was?" Remy asked.

"They imprisoned him. The eight keys served to seal his prison before they were scattered across the globe," Ren finished explaining.

"You mean to tell me that we've had the most powerful demon in existence imprisoned somewhere on our planet?" Mavis exclaimed loudly.

"Don't worry, so long as the keys remain apart from each other, the Demon King can't get out," she assured them.

"So this is what you think my brother is up to?" Drago asked.

"Yes, and I don't think he's working alone either."  
"What makes you say that?" Mala asked.

"Think about it: why now? Dragen would have had plenty of opportunities before any of us were even born to start looking for the keys. Either he's stupid and only just came up with the idea now - which is the least likely option in my opinion - or he's working for someone else."

"But who?" Liam asked.

"Not important. What is important is stopping him from getting the keys. We cannot allow an evil like Mo Wang to be released!" Ren declared. Mavis suddenly began snickering, desperately trying to keep herself quiet, but she drew Ren's attention anyway. "What?"

"Mo Wang? That's his name? Seriously? That's just what we need here, more wang! HA!" Mavis howled with laughter.

"I don't get it," Ren said emotionlessly.

"She's making a penis joke," Tim explained.

"Oh… Now is not the time for humor! There is a crisis at hand!" Ren shouted.

"Sister, relax!" Mavis assured her. "You are talking with experts in dealing with crisises."

"It's crises," Tim corrected.

"Shut up!" Mavis quickly retorted.

"Yeah, just this summer we beat the Shadow Legion and prevent them from taking over the world," Liam boasted.

"That is why you called in the first place, right? You didn't come here just to tell us a story. You want our help," Remy concluded.

"I'm used to working alone; it's what I'm accustomed to. But being a true hunter is knowing when you alone are insufficient. So yes, I am here to ask for your help. Something of this magnitude… it's not something I can do alone."

"Great, now that that's settled, there's just one more thing we need to discuss!" Tim chimed in.

"What's that?" Remy asked.

"How are we going to find these keys?"

"Conventional methods won't work. I've already tried every spell I can think of to locate them but so far nothing," Ren explained.

"Maybe they've been hidden for so long that any energy signature they could produce has just gone dormant?" Mala suggested.

"My thoughts exactly. That or the Chi Wizards who hid them in the first place enacted counterspells to prevent the keys from being found. Either way, they won't be as easy to find as this one was."

"Mala, can't you find them?" Mavis asked.

"It's hard enough to try and see into the future! Each one of these keys gives off a unique energy signature and I can't pinpoint it if I don't know what the energy signature is," argued Mala. "It'd be like looking for a needle in a haystack, except instead of a haystack, it's the entire globe!"

"Well we need to find some way to find these keys. We can't allow Dragen to even be one step ahead of us!" Ren cried.

"Wait! I might have an idea!" Mala exclaimed. "Drago, do you remember when we were tracking down the Immortal objects with your family's Chi?"

"I try not to," he groaned.

"My point is, when you meditated, you were able to find the location of each of the Immortal objects. Maybe you can do it again with these!"

"I, uh, I don't know Mala. It might not work," Drago muttered, resistant.

"We have to at least try! You might have a connection to the keys like you did with the immortal objects before!" she reasoned.

"No! I can't do it!" he barked, suddenly growing angry.

"But-" Before Mala could utter another word, Drago stormed out of the apartment and slammed the door behind him.

"Whoa… what's his problem?" Ren asked, sipping from her tea casually.

"It's a long story. Drago and I hadn't met any of you yet but I guess he still doesn't like to think about it."

"Last time it came up, you only talked about it for a bit," Liam mentioned.

"Yeah, you only gave us the TLDR version and how it was the reason you ditched him and came here," Mavis added.

"You have to understand. Drago's past is fairly… complicated. After his mother died, Shen Du took him in and his life just went downhill from there. It wasn't like with me or Liam where I had my dad and Liam had his mother to get him through the hard times. All Drago had was Shen Du, who barely paid any attention to him. And because he went neglected for so long, he did the only thing he could think of to get his father's attention."

"Emulate the behavior that Shen Du viewed as acceptable," Ren interrupted.

"Yes, how did you know?"

"It's obvious. It's the same reason why so many kids these days act out and have temper tantrums; it's the only way to get mommy and daddy's attention."

"Well, it worked for Drago. Shen Du was finally paying attention to him. The last time I saw Drago before last year was some time before his mother died. So when I saw him again after so long, I was surprised by how much he had changed. He became cruel, conniving, short tempered and violent. He was so close to destroying San Francisco before he got himself banished by the Chan family."

"The who now?" Mavis asked.

"Another long story. Think of them as Shen Du's arch rivals," Mala quickly explained. "Drago's come a long way from the person he used to be and I guess being reminded of that part of his life doesn't make it easy for him."

"I can only imagine. Think of the biggest, stupidest mistake you've ever made in your life and imagine being constantly reminded of it," Liam said.

"Yeah, you see I don't have that problem. All those F tests I got last year? That's all the shredded up paper in Phineas' tank!" Mavis exclaimed proudly.

"But being a villain and nearly destroying a city isn't something you can just rip up into pieces of paper and have your pet lizard poop on," Tim pointed out.

"Hey, you have your solutions and coping mechanisms. I have mine."

"Past misdeeds or none, he has a responsibility. If he can track these keys like you think he can, then he needs to get over it!" Renita cried.

"I'll talk to him. He doesn't exactly respond well to threats or orders, especially from new people," Mala said, shooting Ren a mildly serious glare that barely phased the slayer. Before leaving the apartment to follow after her boyfriend.

Ren took another sip of her tea before noticing her cousin and his three friends staring at her. "What?"

"You know what, Ren! You always do this! You're so detached from people that you've become insensitive to their feelings!" Remy scolded.

"I seem to recall you sporting a similar outlook, Remy," she argued back in a monotone.

"Yes, but my outlook has changed. I made friends."

"I don't need friends," she replied emotionlessly. "And why does this surprise you anyway? You've known me all your life, you know how I am and how I think. What I need is people that I can count on to get the job done and fight their absolute hardest so we can stop this Demon King from returning! Friendship doesn't factor into my needs. Your place seems crowded enough as it is between the three of you and a demon hound, so I'll find some place else to stay. Call me the second anything happens, and I do mean, the second," Ren emphasized before packing up her gear and walking out of the apartment.

* * *

"Drago! Drago will you slow down!" Mala yelled, running after her boyfriend. He kept walking ahead of her, completely ignoring her calls. When she finally caught up to him, she grabbed his elbow with her hand and forced him to stop and turn around to face her.

"I told you, I'm not doing it!" he repeated his earlier protest to her.

"Why not? You heard what Ren said. We can't just ignore what your brother is up to and if you can track the keys-"

"It's not that I don't think I can do it!" he shouted, interrupting her.

"What?" she asked in confusion.

Drago sighed and turned away from her. "It's not that I doubt myself or that I think I can't do it. I know I'm capable of finding them. I didn't say anything before but when we were at the museum, before I even spotted the key in the first place, I could feel it's power. I tried to ignore it, tell myself that I was just imagining things, but I wasn't."

"Then why are you so resistant?" she asked.

"I've felt their power, Mala, each one alone and all at once. You don't know what it's like; you've always been so innocent and pure. Me? Not so much." Mala was about to interrupt him, but Drago kept speaking instead. "I thought power was the only way to get what I wanted, to have a better life. Of those few Demon Chi that I actually manage to absorb, even if only for a short time, I felt stronger. I could feel their power flowing through me and it made me feel unstoppable, like everything I ever wanted was finally coming in to view. But when you take it all in at once, all that power… It does things to you, to your head. I literally went mad with power, Mala! It was like a drug that I just couldn't get enough of it! When your mother helped me get back here, I made a promise to myself that I would never let myself fall for that temptation again. And feeling Po Kong's power just from that key alone, it brings those old feelings up. The only way I can prevent myself from giving in is to just stay away from it."

"...You're scared," Mala realized.

"Of course I'm scared! What I did last year was the biggest mistake of my entire life! I don't want to end up putting myself in a position where it happens again. I-I can't bear the thought of you leaving me," he admitted, turning back to face her, but hanging his head low so she could barely see his eyes.

"Drago," Mala whispered, walking up to him. She took one of his hands in hers while placing her other hand on his cheek and lifting his face up. She nearly took a step back in surprise at seeing how… distraught Drago looked. She had never seen him like this! "I'm not going to leave you. And what happened before won't happen again unless you want it to."

"I don't! I don't want it to happen again!" he protested.

"Then it won't!" she insisted. "When you came back, I'll admit, I was skeptical over how quickly and suddenly you were able to change. When we were trying to find those coins, I half expected you to betray us and take the coins for yourself. But you didn't. You resisted the temptation of power then and when we were trying to find Arran's Signs and you'll resist it now!"

"But how do you know I won't-" he started, but Mala placed her finger on his lips to silence him.

"Because you'll have me right there beside you. You'll have all your friends right behind you! We all have faith in you Drago!"

Drago looked into her dark red eyes and pondered her words carefully. The last time he gave in to power and temptation, he was alone. Mala had left him because of his ambition and he never really considered the Ice Crew to be his friends. But now things were different. Now he had friends, real friends who liked him and cared about him despite what he was and what he did in his past. Maybe she was right… Maybe this time would be different! "Ok," he conceded, "I'll give it a try."

"Oh, thank you!" Mala smiled before leaping up to wrap her arms around his neck and pull him into a kiss. Drago readily reciprocated the motion and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her body closer against his. As they kissed, neither of them noticed the tall, broad figure hiding in the dark alley across the street. The figure's bright red eyes narrowed angrily before he turned away and dashed off, his thick tail knocking over a garbage can along the way.

* * *

 **I know Ren may feel like the stereotypical mean/serious girl archetype, but D-Sniper and I felt that that fit since none of the main characters really had those personality traits. Plus, we realized somewhere down the line of designing and concepting her that she is literally Osprey Fenix, my Storm Hawks character. If you're not into Storm Hawks or haven't read my short stories about our squadron group, Ren and Ossy are both basically strong-willed, serious and determined people who appear to lack compassion and empathy, but they fight for justice and blah blah. Plus, they both have bright orange hair XD Once we saw the resemblance, we couldn't unsee it. Perhaps Ossy was subconsciously on my mind?**

 **Next chapter: The Strikers travel to China to find the second key, but Dragen proves to be a difficult obstacle as he displays his superior powers.**


	4. Inferior

**Had a bit of a block, but I've managed to work through it. I've also posted a silhouette preview of what's to come for arc 5. I know it's early, but you know me, I love silhouette previews. It's got previews of the Strikers (all of whom will be getting new or slightly updated designs) and previews of all of our new characters from the 5 new half breeds to our villainous group, the Fox Trio. Anyway, take a peek and voice any theories or speculations. I love hearing those. Full versions won't be coming until the end of arc 4 ;)**

* * *

"So, just clear one thing up for me," Mavis began.

"What's that?" Renita asked.

"They're called Keys, but they look a lot more like daggers if you ask me. So why not just call them Daggers?"

"Because they're not daggers. They're keys and they function as keys!" Renita argued.

"Yeah, but it's still a sharp enough key to stab someone with. I mean, look at this thing!" Mavis cried, gesturing to the large Mountain Key. "I bet I could slice through someone's arm!"

"Answering the question: Why can't Mavis hold the Mountain Key," Tim muttered.

"I was being hypothetical! I wasn't really going to do it…"

"Perhaps from the point of view of a Demon Sorcerer, they're keys. They're pretty big anyway so something as small as this to them would be about key sized," Mala suggested.

"Maybe it's a key all the time, and when you stick it in people, it unlocks their death?" Mavis suggested.

"What?" Renita cried, confused.

"Just ignore her," Mala whispered, "She got super into this online web series and has been quoting lines from it nonstop. What was it called? Blue vs. Red or something?"

"Red vs. Blue," Mavis corrected.

"...Does that make a difference?" Mala asked.

"Yes, yes it does."

"If you two are done, I'd like to get back on track. Where's your boyfriend on finding those Keys?" Renita asked.

"Well, he's been meditating over there for the past fifteen minutes. If he felt anything, he would have said so," Mala noted, pointing over to Drago as he sat cross-legged on the floor while Liam, Tim and Remy stood in front of and stared at him.

"You think he can hear us?" Remy asked.

Drago, with his eyes still closed, furrowed his eyebrows in annoyance and cried out in annoyance, "Yes, I can hear you! I'm meditating, not in a trance! Now do you mind? I'm trying to concentrate here!"

"Ok, ok, we're going!" Tim cried, quickly pushing Remy and Liam towards the other side of the room with the girls.

"And I can't do it when you're watching me!" Drago shouted.

"Ok, ok we're not watching, all right?" Liam asked, turning away with the others to talk with the girls.

"Typical boys, they just can't do it when a girl's watching," Mavis remarked.

"That's only with bathroom stuff, isn't it?" Mala asked.

"I think you'll find it applies to many other things."

"Can we please pick a new discussion topic?" Tim begged.

"I second that. Why is it taking so long for him to find one of the Keys? He already has a familial connection to them so it should be easy for him to pick up on their magical signature," Renita stated, crossing her arm matter-of-factly.

"Ren? You remember what Uncle Ray said? That you have to work on your empathy?" Remy chimed in, causing Ren to simply roll her eyes.

"Uncle Ray?" Liam asked.

"My uncle, her dad," Remy clarified.

"Just give Drago some time. It was hard enough to convince him to do this in the first place. I know the last thing he ever wanted was to face his family again let alone be reminded of them, so we should be very appreciative that he's agreed to do this," Mala said gently.

"Well, he'd better hurry. It's not like we have time to spare," Ren remarked.

"We have that time to spare now. So, Ren, what do you do for fun?" Mavis asked.

"Fun?" she asked back.

"Oh my god, you're one of 'those'," Mavis gasped.

"One of what?" Ren asked, growing more confused.

"Double omg! I can already foresee how this is going to go down. You're the typical, tough girl, I-don't-need-any-friends-and-don't-like-to-have-any-fun-ever," Mavis explained as she put her arm around Ren's shoulders, "but, in time, you'll find that you actually really like us and consider us to be your friends, even if you never say it out loud. I guarantee that by the end of this, you're going to open up to us and you're gonna be all, 'Wow, these guys are super cool, especially that Mavis girl, and I wanna be her friend'."

"Do not presume to know me," Ren said, gently pushing Mavis off her.

"Don't mind her, Ren. Mavis is just like that. She's not always 'here', if you know what I mean," Remy said, pointing to his head.

All of a sudden, they heard Drago inhale sharply and quickly turned their attention to him. "Drago?" Liam called. "You ok, man?"

When he didn't respond, they quickly moved over to him, only to see that his eyes were wide open. He looked as if he was staring directly forward, but his eyes appeared unfocused. Liam reached out to nudge him on the shoulder, but Mala quickly stopped him. "No, don't! He's in a trance!" she quickly explained. "The same thing happened whenever he sensed one of the Immortal Objects. Just give him a few seconds and he should have a vision of where the Key is. He'll come out of it on his own."

Meanwhile, deep in Drago's mind, he saw a vision of a curved, sickle-like dagger with a trigram of two broken lines with a single, solid line in the middle between them. Next, he saw quick flashes of stone warriors dressed in ancient Chinese armor and then a whole mass of the stone figures lined up in rows.

"Oh, you're on this channel to, hm?"

"Wha? Who's there?" Drago cried out within his trance.

"Aw, did you forget me already? I'm hurt, little brother," the voice feigned distress as Dragen suddenly appeared before him. "And to think our old man didn't think you had it in you to be able to do this. Guess he underestimated you."

"Wouldn't be the first time! He's done that a lot!" Drago growled, preparing to fight.

"Calm down, Squirt. There's no reason to fight here and even if we wanted to, we couldn't use our powers."

"Then why are you here?" Drago shouted.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm trying to find out where the Moon Key is. And judging from what we just saw, the Key has revealed it's location. You do know what that place was, don't you?" Dragen asked, but Drago remained silent, unwilling to admit that he was not familiar with the place. "That, little brother, was the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor. The Terracotta army?"

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Maybe I'm looking forward to fighting you again, this time without meddlesome Ryder slayers to interfere! Or, maybe I'm just itching to see that pretty girlfriend of yours again. How did you manage to bag such a rarity like her? There's certainly no demons as elegant and beautiful as a crystal demon," Dragen said with a wide smirk.

"You leave her alone! Stay away from her!" Drago shouted, jumping up to punch his brother, only for Dragen instantly disappear and reappear behind him. "Huh?"

"I told you, Squirt. There's no point in fighting here. This isn't the physical plain. But don't worry, you'll get your chance soon enough. That is, if you can get to Xi'an in time. You may have your speed, but you don't know how to fly. And what good is a dragon that can't fly?" Dragen's last sentence repeated in Drago's mind as he was suddenly pulled from his trance and found himself back in the living room of his apartment, with his friends surrounding him with worried looks.

"What did you see?" Liam asked.

Drago took a few moments to catch his breath and calm himself before answering, "The Terracotta army… in Xi'an."

"Drago, are you sure you're ok?" Mala asked, clearly sensing something wrong.

"I'm fine. It was nothing, really," he assured her as she planted a kiss on his cheek.

"The Terracotta army in Xi'an. That's definitely the First Qin Emperor's Mausoleum. But it'll take us hours to get there!" Ren cried.

"Not quite," Liam grinned. "We just happen to know someone who can get us there literally in seconds!"

"How?" Ren asked.

"Come on," Liam said, gesturing Ren to follow them as they made their way outside and down to the restaurant below. When they entered, Ren looked around, scanning the interior, trying to catch a glimpse of what it was that Liam was going to show her before he could identify it to her. But so far, everything looked rather ordinary: a normal restaurant filled with normal customers and workers. "Arran!" Liam called out, waving to a tall young man with long blonde hair in a low braid standing behind the counter. He didn't say anything in response, but waved and pointed to the door at the back of the restaurant. Ren followed as they all made their way through the restaurant and entered the small office in the back. They waited for a few minutes and just as Ren was about to voice her impatience, the door opened and the same blonde man from earlier entered.

"Phew, sorry about that. Big morning rush," Arran replied, shutting the door behind him so they could have some privacy. "What's up? Oh, who's this?" he asked, noticing Ren.

"Arran, this is my cousin, Renita Ryder. Ren, this is a friend of ours, Arran Kuang," Remy introduced.

"Pleased to meet you!" Arran held out his hand with a smile.

"Call me Ren," she replied, shaking his hand, before narrowing her eyes and examining him. "You're a light demon," she concluded.

"Uh, h-how did you know?" Arran asked.

"It's ok Arran, she knows everything," Tim assured him.

"I have a sixth sense for these kind of things. Your blonde hair would stand out for miles and besides, the red eyes are a dead giveaway."

"They are?" Tim asked.

"All demons have red eyes. Even if they take on a human disguise to fool those around them, the only thing they cannot change is their eye color. The eyes will always be red, albeit a bit darker in a human form. If someone's got red eyes, they've got some demon in them," Ren explained.

"Hey, she's right! All four of you have red eyes!" Mavis exclaimed after quickly examining Liam, Drago, Mala and Arran's eyes.

"So to what brings you guys down here? It's not shadow demons is it?" he asked in a mix of seriousness and sarcasm.

"No, no shadow demons. But there is another crisis," Liam assured him.

"Long story short, Shen Du's back and is looking to find these," Ren explained, holding out the Mountain Key. "We cannot allow him to find the rest."

"We need a shortcut to the Qin Emperor's Mausoleum in Xi'an," Liam continued.

"I'd be happy to help my cousin out, but I'm afraid I can't come with you," Arran said.

"What? Why not?" Mala asked.

"After everything that happened this summer with the Shadow Legion, I'd like to just take it easy and manage my restaurant. And while I can open a portal for you guys now, unless I'm with you, I can't know when to open another for the return trip."

"Well, what now?" Ren asked.

"We could always take my dragon," Mala suggested.

"What? Him?" Ren asked confused, pointing to Drago.

"No, my crystal dragon. It flew us all the way to the North Pole earlier this year," she explained.

"But it's not as fast or inconspicuous as instant portals. I have an alternative idea," Arran said, removing the golden star shaped amulet from around his neck. He held it out in one hand while placing his other hand over it. His hand began glowing brightly for a few seconds and once it stopped, Arran pulled his hand away and handed the amulet to Liam.

"What did you do to it?" Liam asked, examining it and trying to see if something had changed about the necklace.

"I may not be able to be out there fighting with you guys, but I can still help. Like I said, unless I go with you, I can't know when you're ready to make a return trip, unless you're willing to pay the outrageous long distance charges. So, I've infused some of my Light Demon Chi into my necklace. It's not enough to actually let you use my powers, but it is enough to allow you to open up a light portal without me. And whenever you're ready, you can open another for a return trip yourself."

"So, how exactly does it work?" Remy asked.

"Any of you can use it. All you have to do is concentrate hard on where it is you want to go and the portal will open and take you there. And before you ask, it has to be a place. So you can't go, 'take me to where so and so is'. It will only open one, too. That's the only drawback. Oh, and avoid overusing it. Since the Chi in there is no longer part of me, the power isn't connected to my own energy, so it'll need to recharge on its own."

"Thanks, Arran. We really appreciate the help," Liam thanked his cousin.

"No problem. Anything for family," he smiled. "It should help you out until you learn how to do it yourself, Liam."

"Wh-what?"

"I mean that this should help with the long distance traveling until you learn how to open shadow portals yourself."

"Shadow portals? What are you talking about?" Liam asked, growing more confused.

"You… don't know?" Arran asked. Liam shook his head. "Ok, how do I explain this? Light and dark have a rather… synonymous relationship. With every aspect embodied by one of them, the other embodies all of its opposites. That sorta carries over into our abilities. You see, any ability a Light Demon like myself has, a Shadow Demon has the same, only it's the dark version of it. How do you think your father was able to get his Commanders and entire Legion here?"

"I… I didn't know we-I could do that. I mean, I learned all about my sound powers from my mother, but well, dad was never really the talking type."

"I'm sure you'll figure it out on your own eventually, Liam. You're a smart kid."

"Thanks," Liam smiled. He held up the amulet, preparing to use it's power until Arran stopped him.

"Uh, maybe hold off on using that until you get somewhere completely private. A whole restaurant full of people just saw seven teenagers walk into my office. Imagine how suspicious it would be if I was the only one who came out."

"Good point," said Tim. They quickly made their way back to the apartment and once they shut the door and closed all the blinds, Liam took out Arran's amulet and held it out. "Remember, Arran said to concentrate on where we want to go."

"I know," Liam said, nodding in assurance. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before uttering "Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor, Xi'an." As Liam uttered the last word in his sentence, a stream of light shot out from the amulet and a large golden portal of light opened in front of him.

"I don't think you actually had to say it, just think it," Mala thought out loud while everyone just shrugged their shoulders.

Before they moved towards the portal, Ren dashed ahead of all of them and disappeared into the light portal. "Ren, wait!" Remy cried.

"Does she always do that?" Tim asked.

"Yes," Remy sighed.

"Man, she really is worse than you," Mavis remarked.

"I don't know whether to take that as a compliment or an insult," Remy muttered as they all jumped through the portal after her. When they came out on the other side, they found themselves in the middle of a large, open courtyard with stone benches, tour signs with maps, expertly trimmed trees and a large building in the distance ahead of them.

"Good thing it's the middle of the night. Now we don't have to worry about witnesses," Tim pointed out.

"Well, except for security guards… like that one over there," Mavis pointed.

"Where?" they all cried, turning to face the direction she was pointing at, only to see a security guard on the ground, slumped against a tree.

Liam quickly listened for a heartbeat and sighed in relief, "He's alive, just unconscious."

"You think my brother's already here?" Drago asked.

"No, that's most likely Ren's work. Fast and efficient, that's how she works," Remy remarked.

"And apparently disappearing in a second and abandoning her teammates is also how she works," Mavis added.

An Gou stepped forward, still in her German Shepard guise and began sniffing the ground. Once she picked up Ren's scent, her head shot up and she barked before taking off into a run to one of the buildings in the distance. "An's got something!" Liam called. They followed after An and just as the reached the building she was running to, a large fireball burst through one of the windows and struck a large brass qilin statue that sat in front of the entrance.

"I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that they're in there," Mavis noted. They quickly barged through the locked door and into the building where they saw Ren with her bow drawn, pointing the arrow directly in front of her to the balcony on the second level.

"Aw, Red, if you wanted me all to yourself, all you had to do was say so," Dragen taunted playfully with a smirk.

"Where's the key?" Ren shouted, ignoring Dragen's flirtatious taunt.

"Right down to business, hm? I'd tell you if I'd found it already, but as you can see," he said, holding up both his hands to show he had nothing in them, "I have yet to find it. Oh, but look at that, my little brother and his friends are here! How did you manage to get here so quickly?" he asked playfully.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Drago shouted, dashing forward and jumping up to the second floor.

Dragen simply rolled his eyes and jumped over the second floor railing and kicked Drago in the chest, sending him crashing onto the floor roughly while he expertly landed on his feet. Ren quickly fired her arrow at him, but he easily caught it in his hand. Just as he began to snicker, the tip of the arrow, which wasn't a metal point like normal but instead a black cylinder, suddenly beeped and glowed, releasing a thick gas. Dragen dropped the arrow and coughed, instinctively stepping back and lighting his hands and mouth aflame. Unfortunately, the second he did that, a small explosion threw him backwards right through the glass display case containing several Terracotta soldiers, two horses and a carriage.

"So, you wanna play like that, huh? Fine," he muttered, quickly thrusting his hands onto one of the Terracotta soldiers and horses. His hands glowed for a second before a wave of energy swept over the stone figures in the display case. All of a sudden, the two Terracotta horses stood on their hind legs and whinnied while the soldiers took a fighting stance with their weapons at the ready. Dragen cackled in delight at the sight of their shocked faces. "Surprised? You should be! I am a true son of Shen Du, after all. I'll allow you to experience first hand, the power of motion to the motionless! Attack!" Dragen ordered and the soldiers charged towards them while Dragen rode out on the carriage. He went straight for the door, forcing everyone to jump out of the way as he burst through the door frame.

Liam, An, Mala and Drago quickly transformed into their demon forms as they and Remy engaged the soldiers that had come to life. "Any ideas on how we stop them?" Mala asked, blocking one of the soldier's weapons with her claws forearms.

"Just smash them up and they won't move around anymore!" Mavis called as Linos shielded her and Tim with his large wings.

"No! Don't smash them! These are important artifacts from ancient history!" Tim argued.

"Yeah, important artifacts that are attacking us!" Mavis shouted back.

"That doesn't excuse vandalism! I will not have our group be responsible for any more property damage than we already are!"

"Well, if we can't smash them, we'll just have to do the next best thing," Mala said, pushing the soldier that was over her away with a light kick and stomping her foot onto the floor. Crystals spread from her foot across the floor and snaked towards each of the Terracotta soldiers before encasing them entirely in crystal. "There, that should do it," Mala said proudly, admiring her handiwork.

"Good, now let's catch up to Dragen, we can't let him get the key," Linos said.

"Wait," Tim stopped everyone, "Where's Ren?" At his question, everyone scanned the room for the bright orange-haired slayer, but she was nowhere in sight.

"Oh, not again," Remy muttered.

"She's certainly not a team player," Mala noted.

"I swear, she's not usually like this!" Remy cried as they ran out of the building to pursue Dragen and Renita.

Linos' ears twitched as he picked up the sound of clashing metal in the distance. "Over there," he cried. The followed Linos in the direction of the main building, where they saw Ren and Dragen fighting outside the main doors as an identical pair of brass qilins decorated the top of the stairs. Ren lunged with her sword while Dragen easily blocked with his saber. He swiftly spun around, striking Ren across her stomach with his thick tail. The force of the blow threw her back, but she easily used the momentum to back flip back into a combat ready stance.

"You certainly are relentless, Red," Dragen glared before whispering, "I like that. You'd make an excellent demon." Ren said nothing and simply narrowed her eyes in a glare as she charged once more. Instead, Dragen dodged her assault by jumping back onto one of the brass qilins. "I see you took care of the stone soldiers. You took longer than I expected, but I have a feeling these will be more of a challenge for you!" He placed his hand on the head of the brass qilin and jumped across to the other and did the same. In a matter of seconds, the twin qilins came to life, snarling menacingly at the interlopers. "You know, they say these statues were meant to ward off evil spirits and protect homes and buildings. I wonder how they'll take care of you," Dragen laughed confidently when all of a sudden, the qilin he was standing on stood on its hind legs and reared its head, shaking Dragen off. He landed on the ground roughly as one the qilins he animated began advancing onto him. "H-hey! You're supposed to obey me!" he shouted.

"Heh, I guess their duty to the grounds is more important than the loyalty to the one who gave them movement," Remy noted.

"Yeah, but the other one's still coming for us!" Tim cried, pushing himself and Mavis out of the way as the brass qilin ran up to them and smacked Linos aside like a kitten playing with a ball of yarn. Linos flew right into a tree, prompting An to attack the qilin. She opened her mouth and let out a stream of black fire, but the attack barely phased the qilin, who repeated its paw-smacking motion onto the much smaller An Gou, who whimpered as her body collided with a tree trunk.

Linos saw this from the tree he landed in and narrowed his eyes angrily. "Leave my dog alone!" He leapt from the tree let out a sonic scream on the brass qilin, but the hulking metal beast seemed to barely notice it while the other qilin heard the scream and turned its attention towards its comrade and away from Dragen, allowing him to slip away.

Ren quickly noticed this and took off after him into the main building that was built around the largest Terracotta digsite. "Ren, wait! We need help!" Remy cried, trying to stop his cousin, but she either didn't hear him or purposely ignored his words to pursue Dragen. "Dammit, Ren," he muttered.

"Incoming!" Drago shouted as the second qilin charged down the stairs towards them. Linos raised his hands, summoning shadow tendrils to wrap around the charging qilin's legs and slow it down, but they did little to slow the behemoth down as the tendrils broke like sewing thread.

"Starshatter!" Remy shouted, calling his demonic sword as it magically manifested in his hand. He took the sword in his hand and took a deep breath before slicing the empty space in front of him horizontally, causing a trail of little stars to appear. One by one, the stars shot out and struck the qilin's face, but the little starbolts only served to cause the qilin to swerve slightly while the beast remained on its trajectory.

Before the beast could reach them, Mala quickly jumped between it and her friends. Crystals grew around her legs and feet and spread across the ground, anchoring her to it as she raised her hands in preparation for the collision. "Wait, Mala, what are you doing?" Drago cried, running up to stop her, but on her mental command, Pearl appeared and held him back. Everything felt like it was happening in slow motion as the brass qilin collided with Mala, who, thanks to anchoring herself to the ground, was able to hold the beast back and with her immense strength, she shoved the animated beast back, panting heavily.

"Look out!" Mala turned around sharply just as the first qilin from earlier ran up and knocked her aside with his large head.

"Mala!" Drago rushed over to her in worry.

"I'm fine. Go help Renita. We can handle this," she assured him. He opened his mouth to protest but she cut him off and shouted, "Go!" Though he was unwilling to leave her, he nodded his head and did as she asked. He ran up the stairs to the main building his brother and Ren had disappeared into earlier. He stopped once he reached the top to see his friends fighting and trying to find a way to subdue the brass qilins. He caught of glimpse of Mala trying to same tactic she had done on the Terracotta soldiers earlier, but the pair of beasts broke free from their restraints before Mala could completely encase them. Drago turned back and kicked down the main door and saw Ren standing a few feet in front of him. She held her bow in slacked arms with an arrow half-drawn while her eyes were closed.

"Ren? Where's my brother?" he asked, walking up to her while carefully scanning his surroundings in case of a sneak attack. When she didn't speak or even acknowledge his presence, he repeated his question.

"SHHH!" she shushed him harshly.

"What is your problem?" he asked, growing frustrated with her.

"SHHH!" she shushed again, just as harshly as before. "I'm trying to concentr-" Before Ren could even finish her sentence, Dragen suddenly appeared between them and knocked Ren into a display case with a powerful thrust of his tail. Her back collided with the glass casing roughly, causing it to shatter and the force of the throw knocked the display case over as she impacted.

Drago didn't have time to react as Dragen swiftly brought his fist right up, striking Drago in the jaw and sending him flying. "So, Squirt, did'ya like my little show out there? Betcha didn't know I could do that, did'ya? I mean, it's no surprise that I have all of father's powers. I am a full demon, after all," he boasted, walking over to Drago as he pushed himself off the ground and rested on his hands and knees. Dragen quickly brought his foot under and kicked Drago in the stomach, knocking the air out of his lungs and causing him to roll onto his back, where Dragen then placed his foot on Drago's chest to keep him in place. "But you? You're just a half-breed. All you got was the fire. You're smaller, weaker and pathetic. And that's why you'll always be inferior to me," he whispered, leaning in closely. Drago growled under his breath and breathed fire up to his brother, but the greater dragon held out his hand and effortlessly blocked the orange flames. "Please, did you really think that was going to work on me? No wonder you don't have a Demon Weapon."

"What is a Demon Weapon?" Drago asked, growing annoyed and frustrated.

"It's exactly what it sounds like: the weapon of a demon. But it's a very special kind of weapon and only Sorcerer class demons, like say, you and me, can get one. 'How do I get one?' you may be asking," Dragen continued, "Well it's simple: You have to earn it."

"And how does that work?"

"Well, there's no official method or criteria for how to get your own Demon Weapon. It varies for each individual, just as the weapon they get varies. You see, a Demon Weapon is an extension of our souls, the very manifestation of our spirits and power. In most cases, Demon Sorcerers unlock their weapons after dealing with great emotional strife or building up their power in battle. That's how I earned this," he explained, pulled the green-bladed saber from his back. "Qīng Lóng Yǎn Yuè Dāo, the Green Dragon Crescent Blade. When I defeated Jian Dun, the Metal Demon Sorcerer, in battle, this lovely blade appeared before me as proof of my strength and superiority. From that point on, I knew what I wanted: absolute power."

"I've been down that road before, Dragen. It's not as promising as you think," Drago uttered back.

"Easy for you to say when you didn't even make it to the end. You lost to humans and now you're hanging around humans!"

"You underestimate them."

"And you overestimate yourself. You see, I have to thank you for coming in when you did. Red over there was this close to figuring out where I was with that sixth sense of her even with my invisibility. But your distraction allowed me the perfect opportunity to retrieve this from one of the Terracotta carriages," Dragen explained, pulling out the curved, sickle-bladed dagger Drago had seen in his vision.

"The key!" Drago exclaimed. He tried to reach for it, but Dragen pulled the key away from his reach and kept his younger brother on the ground with a firm foot.

"Ah ah ah!" he teased. "Amazing that the humans didn't even find it. They were obviously more concerned with preserving the carriage than searching for hidden compartments. Since I have what I came for, I guess there's no reason for me to stick around. It's a shame I didn't get to spend time with that pretty girlfriend of yours, maybe next time."

Drago glared angrily at his brother and, with a sudden burst of strength, leapt up from the ground and pushed Dragen off him. He charged towards his brother, but Dragen held up the curved key and Drago suddenly felt himself being pulled to the ground. He landed roughly and tried to push himself back up, but it felt like he was being flattened by an invisible force.

"Well, aren't you a spitfire? But I think you could use a time out. Tso Lan's gravity power should keep you there, at least until I've gone out of range. Then those qilin statues of mine should go back to being motionless too. Until next time, Squirt," Dragen winked, levitating out the front entrance and into the night sky. After a minute or so, Drago heard the sounds of fighting outside stop as the heavy force that kept him trapped suddenly released. Everyone else caught up just as Ren regained consciousness.

"Where's Dragen?" Linos asked.

"Gone, with the key," Drago replied.

"Idiot! This is all your fault!" Ren shouted, pointing an accusatory finger to Drago.

"My fault? How is this my fault!" he shouted back at her.

"I almost had him. I was handling things just fine until you came in and broke my concentration!"

"Well maybe if you didn't disappear without a word and actually tell us what you're doing, I might have known not to disrupt you!"

"Guys, guys! Stop it!" Mala cried, coming between the two and separating them from each other with her arms. "We shouldn't be fighting each other!"

Ren and Drago kept their eyes locked at each other with vicious glares until Ren finally spoke, "Fine. Just get us back to the city."

"Ren," Remy uttered, reaching out for his cousin.

"No," she said, smacking his hand away. "I knew I shouldn't have come asking for your help. I should have handled this alone." Ren walked through the light portal back to Los Angeles, slowly followed by everyone else as Remy lagged behind, staring at the scene of her and Drago's battle against Dragen. He needed to talk some sense into her, otherwise, this wouldn't be the first time Dragen gets a key.

* * *

"Did you get it?" Shen Du hissed impatiently.

"Relax old man, I got it," Dragen answered, pulling out the Moon Key.

"Excellent. I was almost half-expecting you to fail again since you have yet to bring me the Mountain Key."

"Your confidence in me is inspiring, dad," Dragen remarked sarcastically. He walked up to the large stone door and placed the Moon Key in one of the eight slots with the matching trigram. The mechanism recognized the key and it turned, locking in place within the door.

Shen Du grinned widely as he uttered, "One down, seven to go."

* * *

 **I don't think I've ever written a chapter this long... at least not for a long time. Usually I average about seven pages per chapter (~4000 words) but this one came out to ten pages! It's funny because stuff always ends up taking up more space than I expect it to.**

 **Also, I just couldn't help but slip a RvB reference there. Ever since we concepted the keys/daggers, I just knew we had to have Mavis say the Caboose line "maybe it's a key all the time and when you stick it in people, it unlocks their death." Can you blame me? It's one of my fav lines XD**

 **Next chapter: Remy confronts his cousin over her poor communication and shitty teamwork. But will Ren change her ways in time for the battle over the Water Key... at Loch Ness?**


	5. Harsh Mistress

**Cards on the table, I think I tried a bit too hard to squeeze tooooo much into this chapter. But I'll let you guys be the judge of that. Sorry for the long wait, I like to go on short breaks after each chapter to let the Strikers mood recharge.**

* * *

"Ren?" Remy entered the living room of his shared apartment and addressed his cousin, who sat on the couch with her arrows laid out on the coffee table. One by one, she inspected each to make sure the fletches were aligned properly.

"What?" she answered, not turning to look at her cousin as he addressed her and instead keeping her focus on her work.

"We need to talk about what happened in Xi'an," Remy said, sitting down next to her and taking the arrow from her hand and forcing her to give him her attention.

"As I told you last week, get that team of yours in order," Ren replied, reaching for another arrow to work on, only for Remy to seize that one too.

"It's not just my team, Ren. You're part of this now and that makes this your team too. There's a simple reason for why we messed up in Xi'an and it's not because of any of my friends. It's you," he said, pointing at her with one of her arrows in his hand.

"Me?" she exclaimed, insulted and shocked.

"Yes, you!" he affirmed. "You're a great fighter, Ren, there's no doubt about that, but when it comes to working with a team, your teamwork skills stink and you communicate terribly!"

"I work just fine with a team; you know that well enough!" she fired back.

"Yeah, a team of Ryder slayers maybe, but these guys aren't Ryder slayers and you can't treat them like they are. They don't know our tactics and maneuvers. You can't just run ahead and disappear and expect them to know the next step in a plan that they don't even know about! You were reckless and careless out there!"

"You're delusional," Ren said, turning her head away proudly.

"And you're in denial! Ren, you can't work in the field with these guys like they're Ryder slayers or what happened in Xi'an is going to happen again!" Remy argued fervently.

Ren glared at him with angry eyes before closing them and sighing. "I'm not saying that I agree with you, but I do see your point."

"Well, that's a start."

"So what do you propose we do to work on… my 'problem'?" she struggled to ask.

"Simple: get to know them."

Ren shook her head. "I don't see that happening."

"It's the only solution Ren and you know it. Remember how my parents were? They knew each other so well, they didn't even have to voice what they were going to do. All it took was one look and they both knew exactly what the other would do because they knew each other so well."

"I'm not exactly a people person."

"That's the same thing you said when we first met and look at us now." Remy sighed before placing his hand on her shoulder. "I know it's difficult for you to open up and I understand why you're like that. But you once gave us a chance and look how it turned out! Ever since then, you've always said that we were the best thing that ever happened to you! If you keep closing yourself off like this, I'm worried you're going to go back to being-"

"Don't say it!" Ren cut in with a serious look on her face. "I will never go back to being like her. Never. She was a sad, lonely and weak girl and I will never be like her again!"

"So make friends, ones that aren't Ryders. I know my life's better for having them in it. Trust me," Remy pleaded.

Ren closed her eyes and sighed before looking at him again. "Fine," she gave in, standing up as Remy did the same.

"You really never want to find them?" he asked.

"No," she answered quickly and determined. "They made their choice."

"But it's been almost fifteen years. Aren't you even a bit curious about where they are or if they miss you?" Remy asked, pressing the subject further.

"If they really missed me, they would have come back to get me. But they didn't. Now just drop it, Remy!" Ren insisted angrily. But nonetheless, Remy complied with her request and dropped the subject.

"Ok, ok. Well, the others are waiting for me downstairs. We'll be done school at 3 so until then, I guess just wait here or go sightseeing?" Remy suggested awkwardly.

"Fine. See you at 3," she replied, not even turning to look at him before he stepped out of the apartment. It was almost 8 o'clock and they wouldn't be done school until 3. What was she supposed to do for seven hours until then? By the time she had performed her regular maintenance on her weapons and gear, run through practice drills and did her daily workout, it was only 11:30. "Might as well sightsee," she sighed, "No harm in that, I guess." Once she got outside, she remembered the restaurant owned by that light demon friend of theirs located on the ground floor beneath Remy's apartment. It was almost noon and she was getting hungry, so she might as well give it a try. When she stepped in, she immediately noticed how busy and bustling it was. Clearly she arrived during the lunch rush and it didn't look like she'd get a seat. She was about to turn around and leave until she heard someone call her name.

"Renita! Don't be shy, come on in!" Ren looked at the counter and saw Arran calling out to her and patting the counter space right in front of an empty seat with his hand. She sighed and moved through the rushing waitresses and waiters before settling in the seat at the counter and depositing her gear by her feet. "Didn't expect to see you! Hungry?" Arran asked as she nodded in reply. "What'll you have?"

"Uh, whatever you recommend," she replied.

"Chef's special. Got it," Arran said with a wink as he wrote down her order. "So I'm guessing you're waiting for everyone else to get off school?"

"Yeah. It's not ideal since we have a bigger crisis to deal with, but I suppose it is an obligation for them."

"Didn't you attend school?" Arran asked.

"For a bit when I was a kid, but I learned everything I need to know from the Ryder Clan."

"Well, what do you do for fun?"

"Why do you want to know?" she asked, cocking a suspicious eyebrow at him.

"Just making conversation. Trying to get to know you. You are my friends' friend."

"'Friend' is being generous," she remarked.

"Aaahh…"

"'Aaahh' what?" she asked, quickly picking up on his tone.

"Nothing, nothing," he insisted, but Ren glared at him with narrow eyes. "Forgive me, but I've seen your kind before."

"What do you mean by 'my kind'?"

"Usually, when people are as… aloof as you, it's easy to trace it back to an event or events from their past."

"I've never said anything about my past," she remarked.

"You didn't have to. The way you are says plenty about it already. Tell me if this sounds familiar: something happened to you a long time ago that hurt you deeply. Maybe you lost someone important to you or someone betrayed your trust and abandoned you. Either way, the experience has left you fragile and you've closed yourself off from getting to know people. You build up all these walls around you because you're afraid of getting too close to someone and getting hurt again or you're afraid of actually liking them… or both! Now, how accurate was I?" he asked, smiling.

Ren didn't answer and simply kept a straight face before asking, "Where's my food?"

Instead of getting frustrated with her, Arran just chuckled. "You're right. It's not my business to pry. But the fact that you've deflected by answer with a change of topic tells me I'm awful close with my assessment. Just give it time, Ren. Whatever hardship you endured, you'll learn to let it go and open yourself up to people again."

"Heh, Mavis said basically the same thing to me the other day."

"I'm not surprised. As, let's say 'unique and eccentric' as Mavis is, she's actually quite insightful. Sometimes I think she knows what's going on at the most basic level better than anyone! And then sometimes I just think she's not even paying attention." Ren couldn't help but chuckle at Arran's comment, which he quickly noticed. "And that wall of stone finally cracks a smile!"

"Just clarify one thing for me. I haven't said a single thing about myself to you. How were you able to draw such a detailed assessment of me?"

"Well, it's pretty simple really. Everyone's past has an influence on what kind of person they grow to be whether it be something they've done or something done unto them. Take Linos for example. Even with being born 'different' from other demons, he's had to deal with someone like Tzan Ren as his father. It's because he dealt with someone so hateful and cruel that Linos has developed such a just morality and positive attitude. It's also what makes him sensitive and compassionate towards others. He never wants anyone to live through the darkness he had to. The same can be said for Drago. All his life he lived under his father's heel and it was only through that could he see what he really wanted and how he really wanted to live. Well, sorry to keep you waiting. Here's your food. Enjoy!" Arran smiled, placing a plate in front of her with a piece of fish lightly covered in sauce with greens on the side. Arran left before she could say anything else and he didn't come back around even after she finished her meal. When she want to pay, the girl at the front desk told her the meal was comped.

As she walked through the streets of the city, Arran's words lingered in her mind. All his talk about the past influencing us resonated with her for some reason. She didn't want to admit it to him, but he was fairly spot on with his prediction, a feat she certainly didn't want to admit to him. Something in her past did hurt her and it was absolutely the reason why she was the way she was today. But soon enough, this whole ordeal in the present would become part of the past, her past. Was he trying to tell her that when all of this was over, it would change her? She shook her head to rid her mind of these thoughts. She didn't have time to think about how this all affect her in the end. She had to focus on the matters at hand!

After strolling around the city, she eventually made her way to her cousin's school, since it was almost time for them to finish. She casually leaned against the fence, waiting to hear the bell that everyone inside the school was dying to hear ring, signalling their release. She turned her head to her right when she heard something jingle, namely the dog tags on the collar of the german shepherd walking up to her. She almost didn't recognize the dog, but quickly noted the red eyes. "Oh, An Gou, was it?" she asked, as the dog sat down and smiled at her. "Waiting for your master huh?" An turned away for a moment, and when she turned back around, there was a bright neon green tennis ball in her mouth. "What?" Ren asked. An responded by gently placing the ball on the sidewalk before nudging it towards Ren with her nose. Ren continued staring at the ball before closing her eyes and sighing loudly. She bent down and picked up the ball before making her way onto the school grounds towards the large, empty football field. With all her might, she threw the ball across the field and watched as An dashed off after it. _'Smart dog,'_ she thought, _'holding back so she doesn't expose what she really is.'_ Within seconds, An had returned to Ren and dropped the ball in front of her once more. Ren wasn't sure how long she stayed there, just throwing the ball so that An could retrieve it and begin the whole cycle again, but before she knew it, the bell had rung and students were pouring out of the school.

An had prepared to run after the ball again once Ren threw it, but once she heard the bell, An ran over to the front entrance and sat patiently waiting for her master to emerge as her tailed wagged furiously. Once she spotted him, she weaved her way through the students and jumped up onto Liam. "Hey, there's my girl!"

"Ahem," Mavis coughed.

"I mean, my other girl. Were you waiting out here for us again?" Liam asked, petting An.

"Oh, Ren, were you waiting for us too?" Remy asked when he noticed her walk up to them.

"Well it saves us the trouble of having to come and get you," Liam said, gently putting An back on the ground.

"Did you have another vision?" Ren asked Drago.

"Right in the middle of gym class too! He was so spaced out that he took a basketball right to the face!" Mavis exclaimed loudly.

"It wasn't funny!" Drago shouted.

"I think you'll find it was," Mavis sang.

"So where is it?" Ren asked, returning the focus to the next demon key.

"Some lake… in Scotland I think," Drago answered.

"Oooh, I hope it's the one I'm thinking of!" Mavis squealed in excitement.

They quickly returned to the boys' apartment to drop off their school things and so Remy could get properly geared up. Linos pulled out his cousin's amulet and handed it to Drago so he could make the portal, having a better visual recollection of the location. When they emerged, they found themselves in the middle of the remains of an old castle nearby a large lake at night. The castle itself was barely a castle anymore. Only a single tower that stood only two stories tall remains along with the remnants of walls that they could just easily step over. As they all examined their surroundings, Mavis' quiet squealing slowly increased in sound.

"What's wrong with you?" Ren asked.

"Eeeeee, do you have any idea where we are?" she grinned widely.

"A lake in Scotland?" Mala asked.

"Not just any lake in Scotland! This is Loch Ness! As in the Loch Ness Monster! Oh this is so exciting. We might actually get a glimpse at big ol' Nessie herself!"

"Mavis, there's no scientific evidence to support there being a-" Tim started, but Mavis quickly shushed him by placing her index and middle finger against his lips.

"Quiet, non-believer! Pay no attention to this one, great Nessie! Your existence is very much believed!" Mavis shouted to no one in particular.

"So, where do you suppose the key is?" Remy asked.

"Well, I have one guess," Linos pointed to the lake.

"Oh no, no, no, no, no, no," Drago repeated, shaking his arms. "I am not going in there!"

"What's the matter? Afraid of an urban myth?" Mala teased.

"You know very well that's not the reason! I'm a fire demon. We don't do water!" he insisted.

"Fine fine, Mala and I will search the lake. You can stay here with everyone else and take care of that brother of yours if he shows up," Linos said.

"It's a big lake. How do you know where you're going to start?" Remy asked.

"My sonic scream should function like a sonar underwater. Then I can narrow down some possible locations. Come on," he said to Mala. With that, Mala and Linos took off into the air and hovered over the lake. "I'll go down and use my sonic scream. You think you can light things up for me?"

"You got it," Mala said, conjuring up several small, glowing crystals as Linos dove into the lake. Once he was submerged, he instantly felt like his ears were being blocked. He had never been underwater at all until he came to the human world and tried swimming for the first time. It was a new sensation that took him a while to get used to, but if there was one thing he did notice, it was that sound waves traveled much faster through water. He opened his mouth and let out a quick sonic shout and waited for the sound waves to return to him. He repeated this process, moving through the lake and resurfacing for air while Mala marked the spots he had been with her glowing crystals. They repeated this process several more times, but they hadn't even covered most of the lake and there was still no sign of the key.

All of a sudden, Linos emerged from the lake at a frightening pace, panting heavily as if he had encountered something that scared him.

"What's wrong?" Mala cried.

"Th-there's something in the lake," he stuttered.

"What?"

"Wh-when I use my sonic scream as a sonar, I'm basically calling out to things in the lake… this time, something called back."

Back on shore, Ren sharply stood up and began scanning their surroundings. "What's up?" Mavis asked.

"He's here," she muttered, quickly pulling her compound bow off the back of her waist.

"How do you know?" Drago asked, before recalling her sixth sense ability and quickly adding, "Nevermind, stupid question."

Ren aimed her bow into the trees just beyond them and fired her arrow. They didn't hear it strike anything or anyone, until Dragen quickly emerged from behind the bushes, holding Ren's arrow in his large hand. "Nice shot, Red. You almost hit me," he complimented. "Too bad 'almost' doesn't count for anything," he grinned, snapping the arrow with one hand. Dragen reached back to draw his sword, but An charged forward, transforming into her demon form in the process and leapt onto him. Dragen was caught off guard for a moment as the demon dog pounced on him, but he quickly kicked An off him and rolled back onto his feet. An didn't give him a second to catch his breath as she let out a stream of black fire at him, but he quickly countered with his own blue flames.

"Heh, I always did wonder what Tzan Ren did with that bit of Fire Demon Chi he stole from the old lizard," he commented. "She certainly handles fire better than you, squirt!" Dragen taunted.

Drago narrowed his eyes angrily at his brother and charged, roaring loudly. Dragen merely grinned and easily avoided Drago's charge attack. He whipped his tail across Drago's feet and knocked his brother to the ground and prepared to strike him with his blade. However, before he could bring his sword down onto his brother, he cried out in pain as a second arrow struck him, this time right in his upper arm.

"How 'almost' was that?" Ren retorted.

Dragen glared angrily at her and tore the arrow out of his arm, biting through the pain. "Lucky shot," he muttered as he advanced on her. However, he stopped when he noticed a large geyser of water erupt from the lake and quickly redirected his attention to that. "Sorry Red, we'll have to postpone this dance for another time, I'm afraid." He quickly resheathed his sword as he jumped over Ren and charged towards the lake. He climbed up the remains of the castle tower and leapt into the lake, transforming into a large green, red-eyed shark as he dove.

"D-did he just turn into a shark?" Tim asked, unsure of what he just saw.

"It's another one of my father's powers: animal shapeshifting," Drago explained.

"I didn't know you could do that!" Mavis exclaimed.

"I can't! Just like how I can't bring inanimate objects to life!" he snapped angrily.

"Mavis, you brought the Coins, right?" Remy asked.

"Yeah," she answered, digging into her pocket to retrieve them.

"Give me Shark and Wolf. Ren, you take Falcon and Turtle," he said, picking out the four Coins he named before handing two of them to his cousin.

"What are these supposed to do?" she asked, examining the two coins Remy had given her.

"Falcon is flight and speed and Turtle is shields," he answered as they made their way to the lake, followed closely by Drago, Tim and Mavis. Before Remy could jump in, however, Linos and Mala came down to the shore.

"No, don't go in the water!" Linos shouted.

"Why not? Dragen just dove in!" Remy cried.

"He could find the key at any moment!" Ren added.

"There's something else down there. I don't know what it is, but it's big and I doubt it's friendly," Linos explained.

"Besides, this way we can just let Dragen get the key first and take it from him when he resurfaces. The Shadow Legion did that to us all the time. They'd wait for us to do all the hard work and then swoop in at the last second to take Arran's Sign from us," Mala added, explaining their past adventures to Ren.

Before anyone could say anything else, Dragen emerged from the lake, or rather, was thrown from it and landed in the distant trees roughly. Everyone cautiously turned their heads to look back at the lake, but saw nothing there except large bubbles. All of a sudden, large creature with a fat body, huge flippers and an incredibly long neck broke through the surface of the water. She reared her neck and roared loudly in the night. Everyone stared at the beast with wide eyes and dropped jaws, as if unable to comprehend what they were seeing.

The only one who wasn't shocked was Mavis, whose eyes were glued to the beast as she grinned widely. She jumped on the spot and squealed quietly, "Mavis so happy!"

"Is that… what I think it is?" Mala asked hesitantly.

"It's… it's a," Tim stuttered, failing to speak.

"DUCK!" Ren shouted.

"That is definitely not a duck," Mavis remarked only to have Linos tackle her to the ground as they all narrowly avoided a large jet of water from the beast. "Oh, she meant 'look out.' Yeah that makes more sense."

"Come here, you overgrown fish!" Dragen suddenly reappeared, quickly recovering from being thrown out of the lake and flying right up to the beast's face. "You have something I want!" He dug his claws and talons into the creature's skin, causing it to cry out in pain as it tried shaking Dragen off, to no avail.

"Hey! You leave Nessie alone!" Mavis shouted. Linos quickly flew up to Dragen and grabbed him with his feet, trying to pull the dragon demon off Nessie.

"Let go!" Dragen shouted, still holding on tightly to Nessie's face.

"You let go!" Linos argued, flapping his wings to pull the dragon away. Linos wrapped his arms around Dragen's shoulders and chest and leaned in close to him, unleashing a sonic scream right into his ear. The dragon howled in pain and quickly released his grip out of reflex and tried clawing and kicking at Linos. The two fought and flailed in the air while Linos tried keeping them both airborne while also fighting off Dragen's resistance. Linos had no choice but to release Dragen when the fire demon began bursting into flames. As he fell back towards the surface of the lake, Dragen shifted into a shark once more and disappeared into the water. Linos suddenly felt his spine shiver and slowly turned around, coming face to face with a very angry looking Nessie. "Uh… H-hi?" he laughed nervously. Instead, Nessie opened her mouth and shot Linos all the way to the other side of the lake with a water jet from her mouth.

Dragen quickly resurfaced and changed back into his true form, landing on Nessie's back. He quickly drew his sword and stabbed her right in the back, causing the creature to cry out in pain and thrash about in the water. Nessie quickly dove underwater as Dragen jumped off her back and levitated in the air just over the lake. "Heh, you won't stay down there for long. I'll dry up this whole damn lake if I have to!" Dragen shouted, covering himself in flames as he prepared to blast the lake below with his fire. However, he heard something whooshing behind him and quickly dashed to the side, narrowly avoiding the bright pink scythe that had been thrown his way. He watched as the scythe swerved in mid air and returned to its owner: Mala, who had just charged up to him and kicked him right in the chest. The force of the blow nearly knocked him out of the sky, but he was able to stabilize himself with a few blasts of fire. "Caught me by surprise, heh heh," he chuckled under his breath, licking the blood that had trickled out the corner of his mouth, "What can't you do, beautiful?"

"Apparently make you stop talking!" Mala replied, brandishing a second scythe, identical to the first. With both scythes in hand, she charged towards Dragen, who quickly turned invisible and avoided her attack. Mala scanned the area, trying to catch a glimpse of him, but he was nowhere in sight. She waved her hand, summoning a horde of crystal crows. "Find him," she ordered, prompting the crows to dash across the sky, covering every possible inch until one of them struck Dragen right in the shoulder, forcing him to become visible.

He quickly and roughly seized the crystal crow as the construct tried to struggle against his grip. "Nice birds, but small fry like these don't compare to me!" he declared, setting his hand ablaze to incinerate the construct. However, Mala only smirked and watched from where she was, not even making a step to save her construct. When Dragen still felt the construct in his hand, he looked down at it, questioning why it hadn't been incinerated yet. "What the?" he asked as his eyes went wide when he witnessed the burning crystal sparking with blue electricity. Before he could release his hold on the crow, he felt his entire body go stiff as the electricity coursed through him. He gritted his teeth in pain, unable to produce a sound from his mouth as he twitched and jolted in response. When it began dying down, he was able to throw the crow away, but it easily stabilized itself and rejoined the rest of the horde above Mala.

"Small things can surprise you!" Mala proudly declared. She took both her scythes in hand and connected them together at the ends, forming a large, double bladed scythe. Dragen's eyes widened in shock as he grinned widely.

"Now that's a Demon Weapon! I'll bet you're not even twenty and you've already got your Demon Weapon! I'd say that's a new record! My brother really doesn't deserve someone like you," he boasted.

"What a coincidence, I was about to say that about you!" Mala shouted, whipping the double bladed scythe towards him.

Back on the shoreline, everyone else watched as Mala and Dragen battled in midair. Linos had resurfaced and recovered from being blown away by Nessie and rushed to her aid. As they watched, Drago couldn't help but feel utterly useless right now. That was his brother that his girlfriend and one of his best friends was fighting. He should be up there fighting! But instead he was stuck on the ground… Why? Because he couldn't fly! Because he wasn't as powerful as his brother was! He couldn't do any of the things that his brother had so easily mastered! All of this frustrated Drago to no end as he felt completely useless and inferior. He was pulled out of his silent self-loathing when he realized the rest of his friends were arguing about what they needed to do.

"And how do you suppose we do that?" Ren asked. Drago hadn't heard any part of the prior conversation, but Ren sounded very critical.

"I-I don't know! We just have to help her!" Mavis shouted. Drago wondered. Were they talking about Mala? It was possible, but she wasn't the only one up there fighting now and surely if Mavis meant Mala and Linos together, she would have said 'they'.

"The well-being of a wild animal is hardly our concern!" Ren argued back.

"How can you be so heartless!" Mavis shouted. "You know, I get that human safety is your top priority and all, but you could at least show a little concern for the rest of the beings that live in this world! Besides, Nessie clearly has something to do with all of this!"

"What makes you say that, Mavis?" Remy asked, hoping that the change of topic would cool the tensions growing between the two girls.

"Oh, come on! Think about it. We come here to find an ancient, magical key that locked away the most powerful demon in existence and we just so happen to find Nessie, an urban myth that turns out to be very, very real?" Mavis asked.

"Mavis actually has a pretty good point," Tim spoke. "What are the chances that we'd find a creature of myths and legends in the same place where a key is supposed to be? It's too big of a coincidence!"

"Well, when you put it that way," Ren pondered, "It wasn't entirely uncommon for Chi Wizards in ancient times to install guardians to protect ancient artifacts of great power. Even the rest of the world practices it, like the stone gargoyles on buildings to protect the homes inside from evil. If the Loch Ness Monster-"

"Nessie," Mavis interjected.

"Fine, Nessie. If Nessie is the guardian stationed her to protect the key and keep it from falling into the wrong hands, then we have to get on her good side, prove to her that we're worthy of the key and safeguarding it. You're right, Mavis, we need to focus on helping Nessie and we can start by getting that sword out of her back." Ren looked to Mavis to formulate a plan with her, but found Mavis just standing there with her eyes closed. "Uh, what is she doing?" she asked everyone else.

"Sorry, sorry, I got sidetracked for a second when I heard you say 'You're right, Mavis.' A plan… hm…" Mavis pondered, putting her hand on her chin and tapping her cheek with her index finger. "Oh, I've got it! Nessie's underwater right now, but it'll be much easier to help her if she surfaces."

"So we need to draw her out, at least long enough for us to get Dragen's sword out of her," Ren finished, picking up on Mavis' idea. "Think you boys can handle that?"

"What do you want us to do?" Remy asked.

"Head up to those castle ruins and start throwing fireballs and starbolts into the lake. Since Mala and Linos are taking care of Dragen above, the commotion should draw Nessie to the surface. When it does, you have to keep her focused on you as long as possible," Ren explained. Before the group split up, Mavis took back the Coins neither Remy and Ren had a chance to use. Mavis and Ren ducked behind the bushes by the shore and carefully waited for Nessie to appear as Drago and Remy threw fireballs and magic starbolts into the water.

"There!" Mavis exclaimed quietly, pointing to the surface of the water a fair distance away as something began swimming towards the castle ruins at great speed. She burst out of the water as her large head and long neck towered over the castle ruins while Drago and Remy kept her attention by hitting her with light attacks.

"Now!" Ren whispered, rushing out of the bushes with Mavis behind her. With the Falcon Coin in hand, Mavis grabbed onto Ren and flew over the surface of the lake towards Nessie's back, where they saw Dragen's large green blade sticking out of a horrifying, bloody wound. They landed on her slowly, careful not to alert her to their presence. Ren wrapped her hands around the blade's handle and pulled, but the blade didn't budge. Thankfully, Nessie didn't it either. "Dammit!" she cursed. "It won't budge."

"Stand aside, sister. Let Callahan Thunder handle this," Mavis said proudly, gently pushing Ren aside as she cracked her knuckles and took hold of the sword. With a single thrust, she easily pulled the sword out of Nessie's back.

"H-how did you?" Ren asked, bewildered.

"Bear Coin: super strength," she explained.

The giant lake monster reared her neck and howled loudly in the night as she felt the sword being pulled from her back. Mavis managed to grab ahold of Ren and get off Nessie's back as she dove back into the lake to retreat. When they landed on the shore, they saw Dragen crashing into the ground.

When he pushed himself back up, he was ready to take off back into the air, but noticed Mavis holding his sword. "You've got something that doesn't belong to you!" he shouted, advancing onto the two girls. Ren quickly stepped in front of Mavis and drew out her bow, firing arrow after arrow at Dragen. However, he easily managed to knock away each arrow, snapping them all at the shaft, with his claws and armored forearms. He grabbed Ren's bow before she could load another arrow and, with her still holding onto it, threw her off to the side while he roughly seized his sword from Mavis, whom he knocked to the ground as well. "Typical humans, always touching what isn't theirs." As Dragen gloated with his back facing the lake, he failed to notice Nessie resurface once more. She brought her face down right to him and exhaled angrily. "Huh?" Dragen felt a presence behind him and slowly turned around. He opened his mouth to call her an 'overgrown fish' once more, but Nessie took him in his mouth and with her powerful neck, flung Dragen off into the horizon.

"...He's blasting off again! I'm sorry, I couldn't resist," she giggle, speaking to no one in particular. She was about to sit up, but quickly froze when Nessie lowered her head to lock eyes with her.

"Mavis!" Linos shouted, rushing to her along with the others, but Ren stepped between them and held her arms out. "What are you doing?"

"Don't interfere," she warned before turning to examine Nessie and Mavis. "You might spook her." Though confused and greatly concerned Mavis would receive the same punishment from Nessie as Dragen had, they nevertheless watched as Nessie continued staring at Mavis, who remained motionless in her spot on the ground.

"Please don't eat me," she asked casually. She quickly closed her eyes and yipped as Nessie leaned down and sniffed her, the powerful inhalation lifting up strands of Mavis' messy hair. Nessie pulled away and gently nuzzled her nose against Mavis before moving to lick the wound on her back, which was already healing remarkable fast. With her head held high, Nessie suddenly began coughing and spat out a small, blue colored, two pronged dagger in front of Mavis. "Eww…" she couldn't help but mutter. When Mavis looked back up at Nessie, the elegant creature had turned away and dove back into the lake. Slowly but surely, the waters of Loch Ness became calm and undisturbed.

"Mavis! Are you ok?" Linos asked, helping her up as the rest of her friends gathered around her in concern.

"Guys, guys, I'm fine," she insisted.

Meanwhile, Ren reached down and, completely undeterred by the thick coating of saliva and other unknown liquid, took the key in hand. She whipped it a few times to get as much of the slime and spit off before examining the key's hilt: a trigram with one broken line at the top and two solid lines following after it. "Lake trigram… in a lake. How fitting," she commented.

"So which one is that one?" Tim asked.

"Bai Tza," Drago answered, "Water Demon Sorceress. A real piece of work, she is."

"Man, from the way you describe your aunts and uncles, I hope we never have to meet them," Tim remarked.

"I hope so too," Drago added.

"So, counting the Moon Key we didn't recover, that makes three keys that have appeared so far. But this is far from being over," Ren said sternly.

* * *

 **I actually really enjoyed writing Ren interact with different characters and not just Remy. Plus, even with Arran not being a main character anymore, I wanted him to at least be important to the group still and fill that adult mentor role to them. I also wanted to emphasize some of Ren's weaknesses. Yeah she's a badass, but when it came to working with the Strikers, she was a bad teammate because the only other people she's ever worked with were other Ryder slayers who knew the techniques, etc. Think of it like Robin in Young Justice. Yeah he was the most experienced, but because he had developed such a close bond with Batman that vocalizing their moves was unnecessary, it was those same things that made him a poor leader of the team early on.**

 **Next chapter: When the Fire Key is found in an extinct Hawaiian volcano, the environment proves to be far more dangerous than anticipated as the key's power reawakens the volcano's fire.**


	6. Eruption

**Whoa, it's September already! I can hardly believe it XD This is the first September where I don't have to go back to school! Instead, I've officially made full time at my new job, and only after a month! I don't have a frame of reference, but I think that's pretty good! :D**

* * *

It was hot and flames roared all around Drago. Normally the heat never bothered him, but for some reason, he found it difficult to breath. He tried using his power to quell the roaring fires, but they would not obey him. He felt himself suffocating as a large towering figure appeared before him, completely shrouded in shadows except for bright red eyes staring directly at him. The broad figure, large wings, curved horns and tentacles on its face were all too familiar to Drago as he stared up at the figure, paralyzed in fear. The being was far too familiar, even if he couldn't see it clearly, and it stood as a reminder of what he had done, what he had almost succeeded in doing.

"You are weak," the figure bellowed, his voice echoing in the distance as the flames around Drago grew and completely surrounded him. "You will always be weak. Of all my grandchildren, you are by far the most disappointing." Before Drago could do or say anything else, the flames engulfed him. His eyes shot open as he inhaled sharply and he found himself no longer surrounded by burning flames. He slowly and hesitantly looked around and realized he was on a bus, but he couldn't remember where he was or where he was going. He didn't seem to care about that right away, as Drago sighed, relieved that what he saw was only a dream. However, there was still one thing that bothered him. At first, he was convinced the figure he saw was himself from a year ago when he had absorbed all eight Demon Chis, but when it said "grandchildren"... Did that mean the figure he saw was Mo Wang? Before Drago could question is any further, he felt something touch his arm and he immediately stiffened.

"Hey, you ok?" But Drago quickly relaxed upon realizing it was Mala, who sat next to him in the aisle seat.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," he insisted, hoping she wouldn't pick up on his distress.

"Are you sure? It looked like you were having a bad dream just now," she pressed, concerned.

"I'm fine, really. Um, where exactly are we again?" he asked.

"Don't you remember?" Mala asked, to which Drago shrugged his shoulders.

"Allow me to do the recap," Mavis said from the seat in front of them. She stood up on the seat on her knees and turned around to face them, resting her arms on the head of her seat. "We had to sign up for this stupid tour just to get close to the volcano you saw in your vision."

"We're here for a key," he realized.

"Zip it!" Ren hushed from the seat opposite to Mala. "You might as well blab to the whole bus what we're really here for!"

"Hey, we're here!" Tim called as the bus pulled up to a visitor's center with a large volcano in the distance behind it. They climbed off the bus as the tour group gathered in front of the building while the tour guide began her announcement.

"So it's in there, right?" Liam asked, looking at the large volcano.

"That's what I saw in my vision," Drago answered.

"It's definitely here. I'm picking up some magical energy," Ren spoke.

"But that's in a volcano! What if it erupts?" Mavis asked.

"Not going to be a problem. This is Kohala, Mavis. An extinct volcano. The last time it erupted was one hundred and twenty thousand years ago," Tim explained.

"Oh, well then that's good," Mavis smiled.

"Indeed. The last thing we need is an environmental hazard when the fight breaks out," Remy added.

"Not if we can get to the key first and leave before Dragen even gets here," Ren pointed out.

"Like that'll ever happen: us getting the magic thing we're looking for before the bad guys show up? Doubt it," Mavis whispered behind Ren.

"I heard that," she muttered.

Mavis quickly froze and her eyes went wide. "Well, it's true!"

As the tour group started making their way inside, the seven of them slipped away and made their way to the volcano on foot. "Hold up, look at this," Ren stopped, pointing at faded pictographic markings on the ground.

"Kinda looks like Chinese writing," Mavis noted.

"It is, but very old. Hm, I wonder," Ren thought out loud. She muttered a spell under her breath and the earth beneath them suddenly shook as a concealed door opened in the ground before them.

"Ohh, secret door!" Mavis exclaimed.

"Give us some light, will ya Drago?" Liam asked as they all descended into the secret tunnel. Once they were inside, the door closed behind them.

"What exactly is this?" Tim asked.

"It was probably made by the Chi Wizards who hid the key here. They needed a way to get to the volcano discreetly and keep anyone who even got close to the volcano from finding it."

"Yeah because people try to sneak up to dead volcanoes all the time," Mavis remarked. "And before anyone points it out, yes, I do recognize the irony in that statement!" she quickly added. As they continued deeper into the tunnel, they finally reached the end and came into a large open chamber. The platform they were on ended just a few feet ahead where a stone slab sat with Chinese characters written on it. The rest of the chamber was mostly hollowed out as a pale green dagger with a dragon head on the pommel hovered in the center of the room.

"So what's this rock say?" Tim asked, leaning over the stone slab.

"Let me see," Remy said, moving next to Tim to read the text. "It says here that the Key was moved here from Vesuvius after a 'disastrous outburst of magic'."

"What kind of disastrous outburst of magic?" Mavis asked.

"I'll give you a hint," Ren said, aiming a claw-tipped arrow with a long cable attached to it towards the key. "It happened in 79 AD and resulted in the destruction of two major Roman cities." She fired her arrow as the claw hand latched onto the handle of the key, knocking from its floating resting place. She collapsed her bow and set it back on her belt over her back waist as she pulled on the cable to bring the key to her.

"You're saying that thing caused the eruption of Mount Vesuvius?" Mavis exclaimed.

"Mavis, I'm surprised you know something like that from history!" Tim was nearly taken aback.

"A big mountain that shoots out lava and fire? That has Mavis Callahan written allllll over it," she remarked.

"But how could something this small cause that much destruction? Was someone wielding it?" Liam asked.

"It's possible someone accidentally activated the key's power and ended up causing the eruption. But as we all know, magic behaves in strange ways. Something you can control one day could just as easily be out of control the next day. The key could have very well just set off the volcano with a random burst of magic," Ren explained as she continued pulling the dagger towards them. With one last pull, Ren held out her hand, preparing to catch the dagger as it came flying towards her. Before she could catch it, however, a large dark green bird swooped from out of nowhere and grabbed the key in its talons. Ren quickly wrapped the cable around one of her arms to pull the bird down, but instead, she was pulled right into the air by the cable. The bird quickly landed on the ground and transformed into Dragen, who easily caught Ren in his arms.

"Well if I didn't know any better, Red, I'd say I had you falling for me," he smirked at the girl in his arms.

Ren narrowed her eyes at him in a vicious glare as she growled under her breath before swiftly bringing her foot up to kick him right in the chin and backflip out of his arms, drawing her dual sai as she landed on her feet. "In your dreams!" she spat.

"Hehe, with my astral projection, I can be in your dreams any time I want," he grinned, which only made Ren angrier as she charged to attack him with her sai.

"Man, those two just need to bang it out," Mavis commented.

"What?" they all exclaimed.

"There's clearly sexual tension building up between them. Even a blind person could tell!"

"He does seem to flirt with her an awful lot now that I think about it," Liam noted.

"Although, he could just be doing that to get in her head. If he's only flirting like that to annoy her and get her to mess up, I'd say it could be working," Tim added.

"Or he could also be flirting so excessively as a way to disguise the fact that he really does have a crush on her. Like in kindergarten when a boy keeps teasing or picking on a girl; it's because he likes her and doesn't know any other way to get her attention," Mala said next as the six of them continued watching the two fight below.

"But he's the bad guy and Ren would never get together with someone like that! She hates him!" Remy argued.

"Yeah, well there was a time when Mala hated Drago, but that didn't stop the two of them from-" Mavis was quickly cut off when Mala clamped her hand over the babbling red-head's mouth.

"Ok, ok! Let's just bring focus back to the situation at hand!" Mala cried, nervously and desperately trying to change the topic.

"Gladly!" Drago exclaimed, leaping down into the crater below and charging towards his brother with flaming fists. Dragen turned when he heard his brother advancing and smirked confidently. The greater dragen quickly deflected Ren's attack and kicked her away in the stomach before completely turning to face Drago. He raised his hand and suddenly, Drago was lifted from the ground.

"What the?" Drago gasped.

"Hehe, it's not just used for flying, squirt!" Dragen taunted.

Drago narrowed his eyes angrily and fired his heat beams right at his brother. Dragen gasped in shock and was caught off guard for a moment as the beams struck him in the chest and knocked him back. Meanwhile, Drago easily landed on his feet when his brother's telekinetic hold was no longer on him. "Heh, so you did get the heat vision hm?" Dragen asked, quickly picking himself up and dusting himself off. "Maybe you're not as pathetic as I thought, but you still don't measure up to me."

"We'll see about that!" Drago shouted back.

"You might as well give up, Dragen! You're outnumbered!" Ren declared, aiming an arrow at him as she drew back her bow.

"Your naivety is adorable, Renita. But I suppose I can't blame you for that. You're only human, after all," he replied, drawing his sword as he tucked the key beneath his belt. He charged forward to Ren who just managed to block the attack with her sai, but the sheer force of Dragen's strength knocked her back. Before he could continue his assault, he quickly raised his forearm next to his head, blocking a fireball that had come flying his way. He smirked confidently at the fire attack having no effect on him, but then noticed something slim and black snaked around his arm. "Huh?" Before he could question what it was or where it came from, the black tendril suddenly tightened around his arm and yanked him forward. Dragen's sword fell out of his hand as the force of the pull threw him right into the wall.

"Ha, works every time," Linos chuckled.

Dragen growled under his breath as he pushed himself out of the crater he made on the wall as a result of his impact and landed on his back. He quickly got up and dusted the pebbles and dirt off his clothes and armor. "I wouldn't have done that if I were you," he whispered angrily as he pulled the Fire Key from its place on his belt.

"And what can you possibly do with that? You already have Fire Demon Chi!" Mala shouted.

"Yeah, a bit redundant, don't you think?" Mavis added.

"Heh, and here I thought you humans were supposed to be smarter and more creative than us," Dragen smirked. He raised the key before quickly stabbing it into the ground. The entire key lit up as surges of orange energy zigzaged across the ground and up the walls. Once Dragen drew the key back out, the energy waves disappeared.

"So, was that supposed to do something or-" Before Mavis could finish her question, the ground beneath them suddenly shook for a moment. "What was that?"

"Uh oh," Tim muttered.

"Uh oh? Why 'uh oh'? 'Uh oh' is never good!" Mavis cried frantically.

The ground suddenly began shaking more violently as Ren yelled, "Hit the deck!" Just as she shouted, part of the ground cracked open and an immense blast of heat emerged from the earth below and magma began spouting all around them.

"What's going on?" Linos cried.

"The idiot's reactivated the volcano!" Ren shouted.

"But I thought this volcano was extinct!" Mavis cried as they ran to avoid the magma.

"Yeah, well magic can bring a lot of dead things back to life. Hey, what are you doing?" Ren cried as Mala wrapped her around Ren's waist and lifted her up.

"What's it look like? We're getting out of here!" Mala shouted back while she held Remy in her other arm and Linos grabbed a hold of Mavis and Tim.

"I am not letting him get away!" Ren shouted.

"Ren, that's enough! If you stay here and try to fight him, you're going to die! As much as you want to think you are, you're not invincible! Don't be stupid!" Remy shouted. Ren didn't say anything in response and instead looked away, but nonetheless allowed Mala to carry her.

"Drago, come on, we gotta get outta here before the whole place blows!" Mala shouted.

"I'm not leaving!" he shouted back.

"What?"

"I said I'm not leaving!" he repeated with determination.

"Are you kidding me?" Mala cried.

"I'm a Fire Demon, Mala! A little magma isn't going to stop me. I'll get the key back and shut down this volcano, but if I can't do it in time, I need you to contain the damage!"

"He's right! We can't do anything here! If we stay, we'll just become a liability!" Linos shouted.

Mala was reluctant to leave Drago behind, but sighed and gave in. "Just don't be reckless!" she shouted, before disappearing back down the tunnel they had come in through with Linos with their human friends in tow.

"Aw, how noble," Dragen teased.

"Don't get the wrong idea; I just don't want them to interfere," Drago replied with a confident smile.

"Heh, just like the old man: always taking on something you can't handle."

"I am nothing like him!" Drago shouted, as another spout of magma burst through the ground. However, it didn't phase him and instead, Drago kept his eyes locked on his brother.

"Really? You tried to take over the world just like him and you failed, just like him! You even got your ass handed to you on a silver platter by the same guy dad's been losing to for years now! You see, that's where I differ from the two of you: I never tried to take over anything. To be honest the whole world domination thing is just way too much trouble for what it's worth."

"Th-that was a long time ago! I'm different; I'm in a much better place now!" Drago leapt forward to attack, but Dragen easily blocked both of Drago's talons with his own. Both brothers' hands were interlocked, with each of them trying to either pull themselves free form the other - to no avail - or overpower the other - also to no avail.

"Are you really, little brother?" Dragen whispered, leaning in close.

"What are you getting at?"

"Oh, dad told me all about what you were like growing up. It's really pathetic, if you ask me: you being so insecure and desperate for some attention. Unlike you, I never had to change anything about myself to please the old man. Then again, I'm the good son."

"Yeah, well I don't need his approval anymore! I don't want it!" Drago shouted, pushing his brother away with a sudden burst of strength and vigor. "And what about you, huh? If you don't care about what he thinks, then why are you helping him?"

"Easy: I was bored," Dragen answered. "And I just couldn't pass up the opportunity of finally meeting my baby bwother," he added, purposely using baby talk on that last word.

"Yeah, I'm sure you can't resist the chance to make dad proud," Drago spat back.

"Oh, yeah, I'm the one desperate to make someone proud," Dragen retorted sarcastically.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Drago asked angrily.

"You did it once with the old man and you've done it again, this time with your girl."

"You better start making some sense!" Drago shouted, forming fireballs in each of his hands.

"Oh, do I have to spell it out to you? You changed yourself to please the old man and now you've turned yourself into a goody two shoes to please your girl. Dad wouldn't give you the time of day unless you started breaking some shit just like your girl wouldn't forgive you unless you started being a good guy." Dragen grinned when he saw the look of shock on his brother's face, knowing he had hit a sensitive topic. "Unlike you, I've never felt the need to change myself to please the people around me. I don't need them to validate my identity. You honestly never realized your pattern?"

"I-"

"Face it, squirt! You're so dependent on the people around you that you don't even know what you are without them! I'm curious to see how long you're willing to stick with this 'hero' business. But it won't matter in the end. Once your girl and your friends are out of the picture, you won't have anything left… except us. You know what the humans say, squirt: 'Old habits die hard.' Soon enough, you'll see I'm right and that you're just a pathetic loser so desperate for a sense of belonging that you'll change everything about yourself just to fit in. It'll only be a matter of time before you come crawling back to our side." Dragen quickly fired his heat vision at Drago, who countered with his own. Both beams met and were almost evenly matched, but Dragen managed to put more power into his and knock Drago to the ground.

Just then, Dragen noticed part of the cavern ceiling break apart, revealing the bright sky above. Dragen took his chance and quickly shapeshifted into a large bird, flying out through the ceiling exit with the key in his claws. Once he reached the top, he returned to his original form and looked down at his trapped brother below, who struggled to find his own way out with the growing amount of magma. The elder dragon then looked at the key in his hand before turning back to look at his brother. He wasn't entirely sure what was going on in his head, but something drove him to stab the key into the earth. Like before, waves of orange energy raced across the ground from the key and down towards the volcano. Almost instantaneously, the shaking stopped and the magma suddenly cooled and hardened as the volcano went completely quiet. Drago looked around, confused, before seeing his brother up above.

"Don't get the wrong idea, squirt!" Dragen shouted from up top. "There's no way I'm letting a volcano finish you off; that's my job! Besides, the way I see it, you owe me one now!" Drago was about to step forward and shout something, but Dragen cut him off, "What's that? I can't hear you from all the way up here! I'd love to stay and chat, but as you know, I have an appointment to keep and dad doesn't like to be kept waiting!" Dragen laughed, holding up the Fire Key before transforming into a bird again and disappearing into the clouds.

By the time Drago had emerged from the tunnel, he was too wrapped up and concerned with what his brother had said to notice his friends rejoice at his arrival. "I'm fine," he said, when they asked him if he was ok. "But he got away with the Key," he answered sadly.

Everyone was quiet for a moment before Mala spoke up, "But at least you managed to stop the volcano. A lot of people could have been killed if that thing went off." She placed her hand on his shoulder and smiled at him, but quickly noticed his continued frown. "Are you sure you're ok, Drago?" she asked in concern.

"Yeah!" he quickly answered, suddenly speaking in a more upbeat tone, "I'm fine, really! Nothing to worry about," he took her hand in his as he assured her. Despite the front he put up, which Mala seemed to accept, Drago couldn't help but still be bothered by his brother's words from earlier.

* * *

"Yo, got another one for ya!" Dragen called, holding up the Fire Key as he entered the chamber and tossed it to his father.

"It's about time you secured another key, Dragen. I was beginning to regret recruiting you," Shen Du replied, catching the key and placing it into the corresponding slot on the door.

"If you want it to go a lot faster, you could always just come with. I'm practically fighting three demons and two slayers every time I'm out there! It's not as easy as it looks!"

"Are you saying that you cannot handle the tasks I give you? Are these children and your own half-human brother proving to be that difficult for you to deal with?"

"Well, no, I'm just saying would it kill you to give me a hand? Seeing as you complain non-stop of how long I take-" Dragen didn't get a chance to finish his sentence when Shen Du charged forward with incredible speed, picked Dragen up in one hand and pinned him to the wall.

"It would be wise to consider your words before speaking, my son. Talk back to me like that again, and I'll make sure that when this prison door opens, you will be inside when I shut it! And as for why I refrain from joining you, I will not risk the possibility of alerting the Chans to my movements. They know the signature of my powers well enough, but they do not know yours. Once my father is freed, we can worry less about discretion, until then, I expect complete obedience from you!" Shen Du shouted, leaving Dragen quiet and quivering, no matter how hard he tried to suppress his shaking. "Heh, just like your brother, always talking big, but you don't have the fire to back up your words!"

"Don't compare me to him!" Dragen shouted. "I'm nothing like him! He's a weak little shrimp!"

"You're right," Shen Du agreed, much to Dragen's shock. "Drago may not be as strong as you, but he at least has drive, determination, and goals! When he wants something, he works hard to get it and he doesn't stop until he has what he wants. He at least thinks for himself! He knows what he wants!"

"I know what I want!"

"Oh? Enlighten me," Shen Du hissed, but Dragen remained silent. "I thought so. You have no drive whatsoever. You're not even doing this because you want to; you're doing it because you were bored and you had nothing better to do. You're just a lazy slacker with no interest in doing anything! You've had all this time and freedom in the human world since our kind was banished away to the Netherworld and what have you done with it? Nothing! You have no ambition, no fire!" Shen Du released his hold on Dragen, dropping the smaller demon onto the ground before turning away. "You could learn a thing or two about that from your brother." At his father's words, Dragen growled under his breath and glared at his father's back.

"I'm better than him," he muttered, and was determined to prove it.

* * *

 **I felt that after all the crap Dragen's been giving Drago, it was about time the elder dragon got some smack right back in his face XD And it worked out perfectly too! I designed Dragen's character to be superior to Drago in nearly every way, except for one: purpose. Even though Dragen's got more power and experience, he's ultimately just a big slacker with no goals in life. I felt a little odd writing Shen Du speaking so highly of one of Drago's positive traits, but seeing as how he kinda went back and forth on his opinion with Drago in the show, I figured it was fine. I mean, come on guys, one minute he's proud of the guy and next he's fighting him lol**

 **Oh and there's actually a fun story behind the "Squirt" nickname. So when I was a kid in elementary school, my grandpa would take the bus out to come pick me up and take me home. We caught the same bus every day and I ended up befriending the driver who drove that first bus we'd take. He always called me "Squirt" which drove me insane. I always hated being called that, not like with a burning hate, but more of when a kid gets called an embarrassing nickname by their family.**

 **Next chapter: Dragen's words strike a chord with Drago, causing him to make a shocking decision.**


	7. Less One

**So I had originally planned to upload this on friday, but I completely forgot about it XD Maybe it was because I wasn't super confident about this chapter... or maybe it was because I got into a huge Samurai Warriors 4 marathon with my cousin over the weekend where we were getting rare weapons for the characters we like. Probably one of those things...**

* * *

Their last encounter with Dragen hadn't resonated with Drago well. It had been nearly a week since their fight in the volcano in Hawaii and Drago had been completely unfocused since. He wasn't even paying attention in school during class!

"You changed yourself to please the old man and now you've turned yourself into a goody two shoes to please your girl... Unlike you, I've never felt the need to change myself to please the people around me. I don't need them to validate my identity," Dragen had said. At first Drago just brushed it off as taunts, something Dragen was saying to throw him off his game and gain the upperhand, but the more Drago thought about those words, the more troubled he began to feel. Was it true? Did he really have the habit of changing himself to please those around him? He knew it was certainly the case with Shen Du when he was a kid, but he didn't have much choice. He was a kid desperate for love and attention from the only parent he had left and behaving the way Shen Du wanted was the only way to get it. Sure, now Drago regretted such actions, but he was only a child then. He didn't know any better.

Could it be possible that he repeated that with Mala without even knowing it? He didn't want to believe he did, but the more he thought about it, the more he couldn't deny the evidence. When he lost to his father and the Chans over a year ago, he felt remorseful and desperate to get the one thing he cared about back. And after Lang Yan gave him his chance, he wasn't willing to mess it up. So when he finally found Mala again, he did whatever it took to earn her forgiveness. He even put up with her human friends! When he first met them, he had to fight the urge to throw some insult in their faces, but he knew if he did, Mala would only think worse of him and she would never forgive him. So, he bit his tongue and put up with their presence for Mala's sake. Even acting 'nice' and playing the hero felt so strange to him. It went against everything he knew and learned from Shen Du, but still he persisted, just so she would forgive him. And somewhere down the line, he found that he didn't mind being the good guy as much as he thought. Fighting the bad guys and doing good filled him with an odd sense of fulfillment. He even started liking Tim and Mavis! Before he knew it, he had just become accustomed to being a good person and Mala eventually did forgive him.

But at what point did he completely compromise his entire being for the approval of another? Dragen was right! Even if he was happy now with Mala and his new friends, the idea that he could just so easily give in to what others wanted of him without even realizing it alarmed him greatly. All his life it was either Shen Du or Mala. At some point in his life so far, anything he was trying to do or accomplish was always slated around making one of the two of them proud or happy with his accomplishments. When he tried gathering the Demon Chi, sure he said it was for him, but he said a lot of dishonest things then. Drago had come to realize just how dishonest he had been to himself and simply convinced himself that becoming all powerful was for him, when in reality, he just wanted to make his father proud of him. And now the only reason he's a hero is because he wanted to make Mala proud and earn her forgiveness. When had he ever done anything for himself? When was the last time he wanted to do something that didn't hinge on the approval of someone else?

It only further distressed Drago when he couldn't name a single instance.

It was just like Dragen had said. Drago's entire identity revolved around Shen Du and Mala. They validated his identity. His entire being hinged on them. Who was he without them?

All of a sudden, Drago jumped out of his seat as Mavis blew an airhorn right next to his ear. "Ahhh! Son of a bitch! What the hell?" he cried, rubbing his ears.

"Well, you left us no choice. The bell rang half an hour ago and you were completely spaced out," Mavis replied.

"And before you ask, yes we tried poking and shaking you as well," Liam added.

"Where did you even get that?" Drago cried, standing up.

"You know how in movies and TV, there's that one guy in prison who can get other inmates things? I'm like that!" Mavis replied proudly.

"Well, next time don't-" Before Drago could continue his sentence, his eyes suddenly went and unfocused.

"Uh, what's happening?" Mavis asked.

"He's in a trance!" Mala answered. Drago stood in place with eyes wide for a few seconds before he suddenly hunched over, breathing heavily. Mala quickly rushed to his side and helped him back up. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine," he assured her, "These visions just wear me out sometimes."

"What did you see?" Remy asked.

"It was… a big rock," he answered.

"A big rock?" Liam asked.

"That really narrows it down!" Mavis exclaimed.

"Well it was a big, flat rock that was kinda red," Drago elaborated.

"Hm, that sounds like it could be Ayer's Rock in Australia," Tim said. "It's the only big, flat red rock I can think of, at least."

"Well, let's grab Ren and not waste any time," Mala declared.

When they met up with Ren, they didn't waste any time in using Arran's amulet to travel to Australia. When they emerged from the portal, Mavis quickly marveled at the warmer climate. "Man, why is it so warm? I thought we were supposed to be in fall!"

"It's Australia, Mavis. All the seasons are reversed," Tim explained.

"Oh, right. What a backwards ass country…" she muttered.

"Yeah, that's the place," Drago pointed to Ayer's Rock in the distance. "That's what I saw in my vision." They quickly made their way to the top of Ayer's Rock, where they saw Dragen standing there, just… waiting for them.

"Well it's about time!" he exclaimed. "Do you know how long I've been standing here waiting?"

"You mean to tell me you actually waited for us?" Ren cried, drawing her sword and readying herself for battle.

"Of course! I got here hours ago and it's boring if I just take the key and leave before you guys show up! And since you all went to such trouble to get here, I'd hate for it to be for nothing," Dragen boasted. "So, who's first?" he asked, cracking his knuckles.

Ren was about to step forward, but Drago beat her to the punch, eagerly stepping forward to oppose his brother. "I am," he spoke.

"Sorry, Red. As much as I'd like to have another dance with you, I gotta give this to my baby brother. We'll dance another time, I promise," he teased, drawing his sword. "Oh, but don't worry, that doesn't mean I'm leaving the rest of you with nothing to do. Dad doesn't want to come by himself just yet, but he did send some friends with me." As Dragen spoke, a spatial rift suddenly opened behind him, and three large serpentine dragon demons emerged from it before the rift closed up. "Sure they're just small fries, but it's just a taste of what's to come once the old geezer is free." The dragons rushed forth, two taking to the skies followed by Linos and Mala while the third hovered over the remaining humans.

"You ever fight anything that big?" Ren asked.

"I was just about to ask you that seeing as you're the one always taking on bigger opponents," Remy remarked. "But to answer your question, no. I have taken on stronger demons though."

"Like what?"

"A few Sorcerer class, one Commander class. That's how I got this: Starshatter!" At Remy's calling, the sword appeared in his hands.

"Hmph, impressive," she complimented.

"Just wait til you see what it can do!" Remy boasted.

As the rest of the group engaged the three dragons, Drago just barely managed to dodge the swing of Dragen's sword. He lost his footing as he stepped back to dodge and fell to the ground. Dragen jumped high into the air and prepared to stab his saber into Drago on the ground, but he managed to roll away at the last second and spring back onto his feet. Drago quickly threw two fireballs towards Dragen, who effortlessly dispersed them with his own blue flames. Dragen then dropped his sword and got onto all fours, shifting into a large lion and running up to Drago. Dragen pounced on his brother and pinned him to the ground by his shoulders.

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" taunted Dragen. Drago tried to push the large cat that was his brother off him, but the beast was a lot heavier than he looked. "So what's it going to be, squirt? Live your life the way other people want or are you going to start thinking for yourself?"

"I-"

"The old man went on and on about the fire in your belly! Frankly, I don't see it!"

"What are you talking about?" Drago shouted.

"He says I have no drive, no fire! He says you know how to think for yourself and fight for what you want! He says I could learn that from you!"

"Huh?" Drago looked up at his brother, confused.

"But what does he know? He's an old lizard past his prime trying to regain his old glory. And he thinks I can learn independence from you? Ha! You don't even know who you are without people to tell you who you are. But me? I know exactly who I am!"

So caught up in his speech, Dragen didn't even notice the large pink creature dash up to him and punching him right in the side, knocking him off Drago. Just as the younger dragon stood up, he realized it was Pearl who intervened as the rabbit construct took a battle ready position next to him.

"A construct?" Dragen gasped. "And it moves on it's own?"

"For someone who can animate inanimate objects, you sound pretty impressed!" Drago cried.

"Generating living constructs is far different than motion to the motionless. That's some girl you bagged," he grinned.

"Don't talk about Mala like that!" Drago growled under her breath.

"I think it's sweet that she's so concerned for you. Even when she's fighting something else, she sends her peons help you. Though I wonder, is it concern, or lack of faith?"

"Stop talking!" he shouted, charging forward to Dragen, who easily side stepped away.

"Maybe she doesn't think you can handle yourself in battle. She knows you're not as strong as she is. That's why she's sending her construct to help you, because she knows you can't do this on your own!"

Drago narrowed his eyes and growled angrily under his breath before turning to Pearl. "I don't need your help! I can handle this on my own!" he insisted proudly. He rushed up to Dragen, who made no effort to dodge or counter, and brought his hand up to punch Dragen in the face. However, Dragen easily caught Drago's fist as well as the other when the younger dragon tried to strike with his other hand.

"It must be nice to have people always looking out for you! But I wonder, is it concern, or caution? Maybe they're not sure you can handle yourself in a fight. Maybe they're all just waiting for the day that you go back to being a bad guy," Dragen suggested, grinning widely at seeing his words anger his younger brother.

"They don't think that!" Drago shouted.

"How would you know? There's always two sides to every person: what they're really thinking and the front they put on to hide their real selves. Deep down, I bet they're really wondering just how long you're going to be able to stick to this hero business before you go back to what you know best. So, how long is it going to be, little brother? How long before you break?"

"Grr…" Drago growled. He had had enough of his brother talking down to him like he knew any better. Drago mustered up all the rage and power that he could and pushed his brother off him while pulling his hands free from Dragen's. "I won't!" he shouted, unleashing a stream of fire from his mouth. Instead of brushing the flames aside, Dragen shapeshifted into a mole and dove into the ground. "Huh?" Drago gasped in confusion. He walked up to the hole in the ground and bent over to look into it. Before he knew it, Dragen re-emerged from the ground in his true form and delivered a swift punch right under Drago's jaw, knocking him into the air. When he landed, he landed roughly on his back as his jaw ached. Before Drago could recover and pull himself up, Dragen landed roughly on top of him with his right foot clamped over Drago's left wrist and his left hand holding Drago's other wrist in place. Drago tried to whip his tail up at Dragen, but it was easily subdued with Dragen's own tail. In Dragen's free hand, Drago spotted a two pronged key, with each prong in the shape of a curved cleaver while one was smaller than the other and horns sprouting from the hilt.

"You might as well save us all the trouble, squirt. No matter how much you compromise your identity to please them, your so-called friends and your girl know exactly what you really are. They're just waiting for you to realize it too. A dragon doesn't change its scales," he whispered. "As I understand, we're two for two, but this will put me in the lead," he grinned, showing of the Earth Key. "Next time, squirt!" With that, Dragen jumped into the air and shapeshifted into a bird, carrying the key away. The Strikers tried to pursue, but the lesser dragon demons Dragen had summoned before kept them from going any further. Eventually, once Dragen was out of sight, they disappeared back into a rift.

Back at the boys' apartment, Ren paced back and forth, her eyes closed in a mix of anger and disappointment at facing yet another loss.

"Relax, we're just past the halfway point! We're due for a win soon!" Mavis said casually.

"You act as if the result have already been determined!" Ren scolded. "As if fate is just going to hand us the next key!"

"Look, there's no point in getting upset. Yes, we lost today, but we're still in this fight. We still have the Mountain and Water Keys and Shen Du and Dragen can't release Mo Wang without all of them," Liam explained. "Anything could happen with the next three. And even if Dragen manages to get the last three keys, that just means we have to protect the two keys we have."

"While your point is valid, it does not mean we should simply stand by and let Dragen take the remaining keys. It's no excuse to start slacking off!"

"And we won't. We'll stop Shen Du and Dragen from releasing Mo Wang and this whole nightmare will be over before we know it," Liam said with a confident smile.

"Forgive me if your confidence is not inspiring enough," Ren muttered. "What I do want to know, however, is what happened with you!" she declared, walking over to Drago.

"With me?" he asked, confused.

"Yes. You had the assistance of Mala's rabbit construct. Yet you still insisted on facing Dragen alone and he got away with the Earth Key."

"What are you implying?" Drago asked, standing up as he towered over her. But the expression on her face said she wasn't intimidated and wouldn't back down.

"Were you just too proud to accept help or were you allowing him to escape?" she asked.

"What?" he shouted.

"Ren, you can't honestly think that Drago would-" Remy started, but his cousin cut him off.

"Why not? However unlikely to the rest of you, the possibility of Drago being in league with Dragen is still likely. They are brothers after all."

"I didn't know he existed until I met him at the museum!" Drago shouted.

"Perhaps, but even so, it is very easy for anyone to fall back into old habits."

"Excuse me?"

"Ren!" Remy scolded, but she ignored him and kept talking to Drago.

"I know all about what happened to San Francisco last year," she said, narrowing her eyes at him as Drago took a step back and cast his eyes to the ground, clearly feeling ashamed.

"That's not fair, Ren. You weren't there when-" Mala started.

"Actually, I was there," she corrected. "You see, I was passing through the city on my way to another job when I picked up some demonic energies, which I know as the two of you. I was about to investigate when demons started pouring out of nowhere and attacking the city. I fought off as many of them as I could, but before I could find the source, all the demons were sucked back into whatever rift they came from. I tried tracking you two down when it was all over, but the my dowsing was too thrown off by the residual energy of the lesser demons. And when I arrived here, I recognized both of your signatures right away. They were slightly different from in San Francisco, less… hostile and certainly more calm. So when I found you both in the company of my cousin, I knew there was only one explanation: you weren't 'bad' demons and your blue auras confirmed it," she said with air quotes. "I suppose the possibility of Remy simply not knowing you both were really demons was likely as well, but I trained him better than that."

"Well then if his aura is blue, there's nothing to worry about, right?" Mavis asked.

"Not quite. It's possible for a demon to produce a fake aura."

"What are you implying?" Drago asked, growing frustrated with her.

"What I'm implying is that people can change in a heartbeat. If it was that easy for you to turn over a new leaf, then perhaps-" Ren stopped her sentence when she noticed Drago's hands aflame.

"Perhaps what?" he asked, knowing what she was going to say but angrily insisting that she finish her words.

"You already seem to know where I'm going with this," she replied.

"Yeah, I do. I went through a lot to get where I am today and I don't appreciate you criticizing me when you don't know anything about what I've been through. Don't pretend for a second that you know me!" Drago shouted, before marching out the door and slamming it shut behind him.

They didn't see Drago for nearly two days after that. Once again, Remy scolded Ren for being so insensitive, but she simply replied that she was being honest and stating her opinion. She argued that while she didn't completely believe Drago was a double agent, she had to consider the possibility. And since she didn't know him like the rest of them, she was the only one who could consider such a thing. "As admirable as your faith in him is, it's exactly that and your friendship that compromises your ability to be objective! I don't know him like the rest of you do. In fact, I don't know anything about him. But it's precisely that perspective that allows me to consider all the possibilities."

"Ren, you can't just go around accusing people of being double agents!" Remy scolded. "You have to think before you speak!"

"Heh, I used to say that to you."

"Yeah, and now I'm saying it to you! Look, I can deal with 'cold, loner Renita' but I will not have you talking to my friends like this!" Ren said nothing, maintaining a silent vigil as Remy continued. "I know where this anger of yours is coming from Ren. Do yourself a favor and get some closure." Ren said nothing as she quietly left the apartment, slamming the door shut angrily as she departed, just as Drago did before her.

"Um, what was that about?" Tim asked.

"You gonna give us the TLDR version or what?" Mavis asked.

"Sorry guys, it's not my story to tell," Remy replied. "Just don't take anything she says personally. Ren has this bad habit of projecting."

* * *

On the night of the third day since they last saw Drago, Mala was making her way over to the boys' apartment to check if he had come back. She would have called him, but he had been ignoring all of their calls. She knew this was normal behavior for him. Despite the tough guy front he put up, Drago was actually pretty sensitive and once he starts feeling vulnerable, he'd completely shut down and isolate himself… even from her. When Liam and Remy confirmed that Drago hadn't come home, she decided to wait outside - all night if she had to - for him. After a few hours, she was about to give up and head home herself. She stood up and started walking down the block, but stopped when she saw Drago standing at the corner ahead.

"Drago!" she cried, running up to him with a smile on her face. "Where have you been? I've been worried sick!" she scolded him lightly.

"...I'm sorry I worried you," he replied coldly, not meeting her eyes.

"It's ok," she smiled. "I'm just glad you're ok…" Just as she said that, she quickly added, "What's wrong?" noticing something was off. "Why won't you look at me?"

"That's just the thing, Mala, I'm not ok," he admitted.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I've been doing something thinking and… and I've made a decision."

"What did you decide?" she asked hesitantly.

"I'm leaving," he answered bluntly, figuring it was best to rip the bandaid off in one go rather than pull it off slowly.

"Wh-what? I don't understand… Are you breaking up with me?" she asked.

"No, no!" he cried, quickly putting a stop to that line of thinking. "I just… I just need some time away from everyone and everything that's been happening. I need time to think," he said, struggling to explain himself thoroughly.

"If this is about what Ren said, you know none of us think that of you, right?"

"It's not just what Ren said. I… I've been feeling like this for a while now and it's all just becoming too much for me! I-I don't know how to explain it!" he cried.

"So then you're running away?"

"That's not it!"

"That's exactly it! What is making this 'too much' for you? Talk to me!"

"You just wouldn't understand, Mala," he said, turning away.

"Then help me understand, help us understand! We're all here for you, Drago," she pleaded, gently placing her hand on his shoulder to turn him back to face her, but Drago kept his back to her.

Drago sighed, "It wasn't supposed to happen like this. I wasn't expecting to see you here."

"What do you mean?" Drago turned around and held out an envelope to her. "What is this?" she asked, not yet taking the envelope.

"Just take it. It'll explain everything," he whispered.

Mala stared at the letter as Drago took her hand in his and placed the letter in her hand for her. "Wait… so, you were just going to leave without so much as a word to me?" she asked. Her voice was filled with hurt, but more importantly, anger.

"You know that I'm not good with words, Mala. Please, it's just easier this way," he begged.

"Am I not worth giving a proper goodbye to?"

"Of course not!" he cried. "It's just… everything that's been happening lately has been making me think and I'm more confused than I ever was before."

"Then let me help you!" she pleaded, on the verge of tears.

"I can't, Mala. This is something I have to do on my own," Drago said, turning away from her. He stopped, however, when he felt her hand grip the sleeve of his jacket. "Mala…"

"When will you be back…" she muttered, almost emotionlessly.

"I don't know."

"Will you be back?" she asked next. They stood there in silence for what seemed like an eternity before Mala finally realized that Drago hadn't answered her question. Did he just not have an answer? Or was he sparing her feelings from the truth that he didn't know when he would be back, or worse, that he wasn't coming back at all? Drago's sleeve slipped from her fingers as she silently and numbly accepted the answer and Drago, now free from her grasp, walked away from her and disappeared into the night.

* * *

 **I guess I can't call it a "shocking decision" when it was really obvious what Drago was gonna do. I feel like it may have been kinda sudden to just have Drago leave, but I think it would make sense that that would be what he'd do. People like Mala would probably stay and talk it out with friends, but Drago isn't as... emotionally stable and satisfied with self as she is. Despite how far he's come, Drago's not as... well as he claims/thinks he is. Does that make sense?**


	8. Figured Out

**Can't believe it's October already. Time is a flying!**

* * *

It was a quiet morning in Arran's restaurant as everyone sat in a single booth. Mavis looked around to everyone as they all focused on Mala, who hung her head low as her bangs obscured her face while she tightly gripped her cup of tea. She was going to open her mouth and speak, but Tim quickly - and wordlessly - mouthed for her to say nothing. Mavis stuck out her tongue at him and decided to speak anyway. "So… do you wanna talk about it?" she asked. Mala said nothing as her grip on the cup tightened until the cup shattered, spilling the tea all over the table.

"Ah, dammit!" Mala cursed, quickly fumbling for napkins to wipe up the spilled tea. "Sorry Arran!"

"Don't worry about it!" he called from behind the counter.

"I'll take that as a 'no'," Mavis commented.

"Did he say anything?" Liam asked.

"Pst! Did you not just see her destroy that cup with one hand? That was a ceramic cup!" Mavis quickly whispered.

"He didn't say much," Mala said, quickly earning everyone's focus and attention. As she spoke, she grit her teeth to contain her anger. "All he would tell me was that this was all becoming too much for him and he needed to get away for a while."

"Did he say why?" Remy asked.

"No, Remy! I asked him and asked him, pleaded with him to tell me what was wrong, but he wouldn't say anything! He just kept saying how he wasn't good with words and that none of us would understand, not even me."

At that, Remy quickly shot his cousin a disappointed glare. "What?" she cried.

"You know what! If you hadn't gone off on Drago like that, he wouldn't have left!"

"It wasn't just what Ren said to him," Mala interrupted. "At least, that's what he said."

"Well then if it wasn't Miss Insensitive here, what was it?" Mavis asked.

"Hey!" Ren whined.

"I know, 'Miss Insensitive' isn't my best work. I suppose 'Ice Queen' would fit better, but I refuse to use that because it's just too overused and cheesy. Give me some time, I'll come up with a better nickname for you."

"Can I not just opt out of the nicknaming?" Ren asked.

"Haha, please," Mavis laughed.

"I think it was Dragen," Mala continued speaking. "Drago mentioned that meeting his brother and finding out about his dad being back brought up some bad memories for him of what he did last year. Dragen must have said something to him… and I'm gonna find out what!" she exclaimed, determined.

"Great! Only one problem: without Drago here, we have no way of tracking down the rest of the keys!" Liam pointed out.

"Perhaps I have an alternative method," Ren suggested.

"What?" they all asked.

"I may not be able to track the rest of the keys since I lack the connection to them that Drago has, but I can track Dragen. I've done it before so I know his energy signature. It's unlikely he'll be around doing anything else so if he's on the move for something, it should be for a key. If we just locate and follow him, we should find a key."

"Well, it's better than nothing. What do you need?" Tim asked.

"A map and complete silence," she replied. They all moved back up to the apartment upstairs and laid out a large world map on the coffee table as Ren sat on front of it. She reached for the pendulum around her neck and pulled it over he head and wrapped the string around her head before dangling the crystal pendulum over the map. Then, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Everyone - in particular, Mavis - watched her intently as she concentrated. For a while, the crystal pendulum sat motionless hanging from Ren's hand, when all of a sudden, it began swinging back and forth. It hovered over and pointed to several different countries all across the map before quickly changing to point to another. Ren concentrated harder, trying to sift through all the magical signatures she was detecting to find the one she was looking for. Eventually, the pendulum slowly focused in on the southeast part of Mexico.

"Yucatan," Tim read from the map.

"That's where Dragen is, roughly at least. I can get a stronger reading and track him better once we get there."

Liam nodded and pulled out Arran's amulet, opening up a light portal to take them to Yucatan. When they came out the other side, they found themselves deep within a large and dense forest.

"All right, now where's the temple?" Mavis asked.

"What are you talking about?" asked Mala.

"Well, these old Chi Wizards who hid these keys seem to like hiding them in tombs or big famous locations. Based on that trend, there's gotta be some sort of secret tomb or fancy tourist attraction-y temple nearby!" she reasoned.

"I think I found the answer to that," Remy said, pointing to a sign that read 'Chichen Itza, 5 miles'.

"Chicken Pizza?" Mavis asked. "I could go for some chicken pizza right about now."

"It's pronounced Chichen Itza, not Chicken Pizza," Tim corrected.

"Fine whatever, what is it then?" Mavis shrugged.

"Chichen Itza is a famous site of what used to be a Mayan city. Tourist and historians come from all over to see it and study it!" Tim explained.

"Well, the pendulum is pointing that way," Ren said as her crystal pendulum pointed down the road past the sign Remy had spotted. Liam and Mala quickly took to the air with their friends in tow as they made their way to Chichen Itza, but quickly ducked behind some trees when they saw that the side was filled with tourists.

"Great, it's full of people. How are we supposed to investigate this place when it's full of witnesses?" Mavis asked.

"Well, we've got two options: blend in with the tourists and barely get anywhere, especially with all the preservation staff that won't us by into the restricted areas, or…" Ren started.

"Or… what?" Mala asked.

"The way I see it, these civilians are gonna panic and run the second Dragen shows up and starts causing trouble. So we can either wait for that to happen… or we can clear everyone out first."

"Oh, oh, I know just the thing to do it with!" Mavis buried her hand into her skirt pocket and pulled out the Fox Coin. "I have a brilliant idea!" she grinned widely. She held out the Fox Coin and all of a sudden, an image of a large green lizard standing on two legs appeared. People immediately panicked as the beast roared loudly and thumped its tail on the ground and against trees. Once everyone had evacuated, the giant lizard disappeared.

"Really Mavis? Godzilla?" Tim asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah, and what would you have done?" she shot back.

"Enough, you two. The place is cleared and that's all that matters," Ren chastised the two before heading towards the Mayan structure.

"I doubt we'll be able to find anything that hasn't already been discovered. Archaeologists have been studying this place for ages!" Tim pointed out.

"True, but those archaeologists were only concerned with looking at the surface," Ren countered.

"Besides, what better place to hide a secret room than right out in the open! It's so obvious that no one expects it!" Mavis exclaimed.

"Well, we better start looking, and fast. I'm sensing Dragen and he's getting closer. He'll be here soon," warned Ren. "Spread out!"

"No need!" Liam held up his hand to cancel her order. He closed his eyes and opened them again quickly, activating his True Sight. He scanned the structure, before looking closer at the earth beneath it. "There's definitely a secret chamber underneath the structure."

"Can you see a way in?" Mala asked.

"Yeah, hang on," he said, focusing in closer to the chamber to backtrack a way in. "There's a staircase that leads directly down to it over… there!" He pointed to the northern staircase.

"How are we supposed to open it?" Remy asked.

"Hang on, hang on, let me finish!"

"I know I'd let him finish," Mavis smirked as she muttered that to herself.

Liam walked over to one of the feathered serpent statues that decorated the structure. He reached up to one and wrapped his hand around the tongue of the statue, completely ignoring the "Do Not Touch" sign that was posted next to it. He pulled down slightly and everyone heard a loud _'clink'_ as the unseen mechanism moved before a section of the stairs in front of them, dropped down into a secret tunnel.

Ren's head shot up as her eyes widened in shock. "He's almost here!"

"Let's get inside! We can get the key while he spends time trying to find the access tunnel!" Remy suggested.

"No, I'm staying out here," Mala said, standing firmly a few steps lower.

"What? But why?" Tim asked.

"Because Dragen did something that made Drago leave me, and I'm gonna find out what," she said with a furious glare.

"But-" Liam reached out to stop her, but Mavis quickly pulled his hand down.

"Word of advice, do not get in the way of a woman when she is angry. You'll just end up as collateral damage."

"Go! I'll be fine!" Mala insisted.

"...Ok, but if you can't handle him by yourself," Liam started, but Mala cut him off.

"I can, now go!" she insisted as her friends disappeared down the staircase. Mala moved back over to the statue and lifted the tongue back into position, sealing the hidden entrance. She then summoned her crystal wings and jumped to the top of the structure to wait for Dragen.

True to Ren's words, a large green bird appeared from beyond the trees and transformed into Dragen. "Well, well, well, you got here before me! Where's the rest of your crew?"

"None of your business," Mala glared, quickly transforming into her demon form and bringing out her scythe.

"Ooh, why the cold shoulder, Precious?" Dragen teased, pulling out his guan dao as Mala hovered from atop the structure to the ground in front of him.

"I'm not in the mood for your teasing or your flirting, Dragen! Now, tell me what you said to Drago!"

"If you wanna know so bad what he and I talk about, why don't you ask him yourself?" he shrugged.

"I did. But Drago's too proud to dump his problems on me. Even when I pressed him to tell me, he wouldn't! But I know it has something to do with you!" she shouted, pointing at him with one of her scythe blades. "Otherwise he wouldn't have left!"

"Huh?" Dragen's eyebrow cocked in confusion. "Wait, back up a minute here. You mean to tell me that the runt actually ditched you? Oh, oh this is just rich! He actually let all that stuff I said get to him! Hah!"

"What stuff? What did you say to him?" she shouted.

"Oh, it wasn't anything too bad," he mused, "Just that he was a pathetic loser, you know, my usual insults. Oh, you know, it might have something to do with the fact that I pointed out that he's always changing himself to please other people and earn their attention. Do you think it might have something to do with that?"

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"Oh come on, don't tell me you never noticed it either! First, the squirt changes himself to please our old man just to get some attention from him and then, he gets stuck on you! And what does he do then? He completely changes himself again, this time all to please you!" Dragen said in an accusatory tone, pointing at her.

"Th-that's not true!" she protested.

"It can be a hard truth to accept, I know, but it'll be easier for you in the long run if you just do. He left because he's doubting himself. He doesn't know what he is without you there to tell him what he is. He's latched himself onto people all his life and now, for the first time in his life, he doesn't know how to stand on his own two feet." Dragen smirked as Mala lowered her head, confident that his words were getting to her. "I told you, sweetheart, you're better off with someone like me," he said, holding out his hand. He smiled as she slowly stepped forward, but once she got close enough, Mala swung her scythe up to Dragen's neck, but he easily blocked it with his guan dao. "Oh, sneaky! I knew there was a reason I liked you. Why waste your time with small fry like my brother when you can be with a big dog like me?"

"I wouldn't pick you if you were the last man in the universe! And don't you dare talk about Drago like that!" she shouted, as they both pushed each other away with their bladed weapons.

"You honestly think he'll come back to you?"

"I don't know!" she snapped loudly before sighing deeply. "I don't know if Drago will come back. And I don't know how he'll feel about me if he ever comes back. I can't predict the future, no one can! It's always changing and there's too many possibilities. All I can do now is focus on the present. And right here, right now, I am not letting you get that key!"

* * *

"You think Mala's going to be all right up there by herself?" Tim asked as the five of them carefully made their way through the underground tunnel beneath Chichen Itza, led only by Ren and Remy's flashlights.

"Please, I'm more worried about Dragen," Mavis remarked.

"Seriously?" Liam asked.

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, Liam. And Mala's feeling scorned big time."

"She'll be fine," Ren said confidently. "Her aura is very powerful and intense feelings always amplify power. I'd argue she's more powerful than even you, Liam."

"You don't think I'm powerful?" Liam asked, genuinely curious rather than insulted.

"I didn't say that. You're certainly powerful in your own degree, but Mala and her powers are far more versatile. She could have an entire army in seconds at her fingertips."

"Well, wouldn't that apply to Drago as well? If mean, if half-breeds like Mala can create sentient constructs, shouldn't Drago be able to as well?" Tim asked.

"He should," Ren answered, "But whether he's tried or even knows he can is another story. Just like how intense emotions can amplify power, they can also hinder it. Drago's emotions were beginning to hinder his abilities. The stakes are too high right now! We need him to have his head in the game or not be in the game at all."

"Is that why you yelled at him?" Mavis asked with a cocked eyebrow, but in the dark, no one could see her expression.

"Friendly support and coddling can only get you so far. Sometimes you need someone to yell at you, to give you the hard truth without any sugarcoating. You've all supported Drago in his new life and while that may be touching, it wasn't about to help him sort through whatever turmoil he was feeling. Sometimes, you need someone with a fresh perspective to tell it like it is and give him the push he needs to solve his problems."

"She's actually got a good point. It's like if a child is misbehaving. The parents might not yell at him and instead just ask him nicely to stop, but he'll keep misbehaving. It's only when someone else yells at the kid when they finally learn their lesson," Tim explained.

"Yeah, but accusing Drago of being a double agent was going a bit too far," Liam whispered.

"I heard that," Ren quickly snapped. "Besides, I didn't say anything that he didn't need to hear. I've been where he is: being something you're not all to make someone love you. Once he breaks free of this, his life will finally be his own to control."

"Wow… that was deep. I'm sensing an emotional and complex backstory that will most likely come back up before this is all over," Mavis remarked.

"Guys, there's a chamber up ahead," Remy called from a few feet in front of them. Once they all caught up to him, Remy shined his flashlight over to a statue of a feathered serpent with a dark blue dagger in its mouth.

"There it is!" Mavis cried, pointing at the key. She quickly ran up to the statue and climbed up to the serpent's mouth.

"Be careful!" Tim cautioned.

"Don't come to life, don't come to life," Mavis muttered in succession as she carefully reached for the key. Once her hand was close enough, she quickly swiped the key from its resting spot and quickly shut her eyes. But when nothing happened, she slowly opened her eyes and looked at the key in her hands. "I really thought something was gonna happen. A booby trap at the very least!" she huffed as she jumped down from the statue.

"Let's just be glad something didn't," Remy said.

"And let's get out of here before you two jinx it," added Tim.

"So can someone explain something to me? There's a Thunder Demon and a Wind Demon right? Then what exactly does Sky Demon powers consist of? I mean, how different is it from thunder and wind?" Mavis asked.

"Is that really important right now?" Ren chastised.

"It is to me!"

* * *

The sound of blades clashing rang through the air as Mala and Dragen exchanged blows. When one tried to strike with their weapon, the other simply blocked it and the two were locked in an intense stalemate.

"Not bad, beautiful. Not many people can keep up with me!" Dragen boasted, leaning in close to her as their blades clashed once more. "Aw, what's the matter? Giving me the silent treatment?" he teased when she didn't respond to his taunt. "The little squirt doesn't know how to be on his own. He's always gotta latch himself on to the closest thing. And when he doesn't get the love and attention he desperately wants, he's willing to change himself and compromise his individuality!"

"He doesn't do that!" Mala argued.

"Oh, doesn't he? Think about it! He only starting acting like a rotten demon to get daddy's attention. And after you kicked him to the curb, he started being nice and kind," Dragen spat in disgust, "You know it's true! Admit it! The only reason you even gave him the time of day was because he started being the kind of guy you wanted him to be!"

"I… I never meant it like that!" Mala argued, pushing him off her with her scythe.

"Intent doesn't matter, beautiful. What does matter is that my squirt of a little brother has no sense of identity. And if leaving you behind was just one of the many bonuses of messing with his head, well, I'm not complaining," he said with a wink.

"Ugh, in your dreams!" she shouted, throwing her double ended scythe towards him. However, Dragen swatted the scythe away like a baseball with his guan dao. Mala watched her scythe swerve and land behind her and by the time she turned back around to face Dragen, she was met his thick forearm striking her right across her chest, knocking her off her feet. Dragen took the chance to swipe his tail down onto her stomach, sending her crashing into the ground, creating a small crater upon impact. Mala felt the air being knocked right out of her chest as she struggled to breath and regain her energy. As she slowly managed to roll over on her hands and feet, Dragen simply paced around her, snickering under his breath as he watched her try to recover. When she finally pushed herself back up, Dragen came up behind her with his arms under her shoulders and put her in a nelson hold. Mala quickly tried to break free from his grip, but she was still a bit dazed and weakened from his earlier attack.

"Ah ah ah," he tsked, firmly stepping his foot onto her flailing tail and digging his talons into it. "Don't want that tail to do something it's not supposed to. Now, just stop struggling and give in. You know you want to," he whispered into her ear. Mala struggled again when she felt the his hot breath against her neck, but he quickly overpowered her again and kept her from moving. "Why are you so hung up on the little squirt?"

"His name is Drago!" she shouted.

"Whatever," he scoffed, "Why settle for a half-breed like him when you could have the full package like me? I know how to treat you right."

"Never gonna happen!" she shouted each word separately to emphasize her point.

"Gr, I don't get it!" Dragen shouted, dropping his flirtatious tone and reverting to a menacing growl. "Why are you so stuck on him, after everything he did to hurt you? What makes him so special? What does he have that I don't?" As he ranted, Mala quickly sharpened her fingers into crystals and grabbed Dragen's head, digging her fingers into any flesh she could. The dragon roared in pain as he reared his neck and tried pulling his face away from Mala's reach, but she kept her grip strong. As both struggled against the other, Mala felt a sharp pain radiate through her head.

All of a sudden, she heard a voice in her head, shouting, "Don't compare me to him! I'm nothing like him! He's a weak little shrimp!"

"You're right," a second voice spoke. "Drago may not be as strong as you, but he at least has drive, determination, and goals! When he wants something, he works hard to get it and he doesn't stop until he has what he wants. He at least thinks for himself! He knows what he wants!"

"I know what I want!" the first voice shouted, which she now recognized as Dragen's.

The second voice hissed. "You have no drive whatsoever. You're just a lazy slacker with no interest in doing anything! You've had all this time and freedom in the human world since our kind was banished away to the Netherworld and what have you done with it? Nothing! You have no ambition, no fire! You could learn a thing or two about that from your brother."

Mala and Dragen released their grips as they fell away from each other. Mala fell to her hands and knees and panted heavily, trying to process what just happened. _'What were those voices? Was that… a memory? But how is that possible?'_ she thought frantically.

"What did you do?" Dragen roared, snapping Mala out of her trance.

"That...that was a memory. That was your memory!" Mala realized.

"Y-you little bitch!" he shouted, charging towards her recklessly. Mala easily jumped up and kicked him off to the side.

"I think I get it!" she declared, walking up to Dragen as he recovered from her kick to his face. "I think I finally understand why you're so obsessed with Drago!"

"Me? Obsessed with him?" he laughed, finding the very suggestion of such a thing to be laughable.

"Every time you've shown up, you keep trying to degrade him somehow. You keep trying to push him down, to make him feel inferior to you!"

"That's because he is!" Dragen shouted.

"No!" she argued. "He's better than you! And… and you know it, don't you? That's why you keep trying to push him down! You're like a regular schoolyard bully! Beating on someone else because it makes you feel better about yourself! Even just now when you asked me what Drago has that you don't. Nobody can say that without hiding their true feelings. You're jealous of him," she realized.

"Me? Jealous of him? Don't make me laugh!" he scoffed.

"That memory I just saw… You may be stronger than Drago in terms of raw power, but even your own father knows he's better than you at something. You have no fire!"

Dragen suddenly shot forward, charging towards Mala who quickly raised her arms up, shielding herself with a crystal barrier as Dragen relentlessly clawed against it. "Shut up! Just shut up! You don't know what you're talking about!"

"I do! Drago's struggled and worked hard. He went through a lot to get where he is! He has a good life, he has friends! He has someone who loves him! And you can't stand it, can you! How does it feel to know that you've got hundreds of years over him and he still got something you wanted before you?"

"Shut up!" Dragen's fist shattered through Mala's crystal barrier and struck her left cheek, knocking her to the ground. Before she had a chance to get up, Dragen pinned her down with his foot by her neck, pressing just hard enough so that she wouldn't fight him lest she wanted to choke. "You don't know when to shut your damn mouth!"

"Y-you hate him… because he has everything you want," she breathed, struggling to speak as Dragen's massive foot crushed her windpipe. "But you don't know how to get it for yourself, s-so you're trying to take what he has f-for yourself… because th-that's the only way you know how to get it! Y-you don't really hate him; you hate yourself. You know it's true. A-admit it," she smirked, repeating his own words back to him. Dragen growled under his breath as he called his guan dao to him and raised the blade over his head.

"You should have joined me when you had the chance," he growled with a cruel smile. Before he could bring his blade down, the sound of a loud high-pitched shriek struck his ears. Dragen howled in pain as he quickly covered his ears, but it did little to quiet the sound of Linos' sonic scream. Mala quickly seized the opportunity to push Dragen off of her and jump to her feet to rejoin her friends as they emerged from the Mayan structure.

"Don't try anything!" Ren warned, drawing back her bow.

"Yeah! We've got sky power on our side!" Mavis added, holding out the sky key. "Whatever that is… seriously what is sky power?"

Dragen didn't say anything and simply kept a vicious glare locked on to Mala, who only returned it with one of her own. He stepped back and muttered, "You win today," before transforming into a bird and taking off.

Once he was gone, Mavis sighed happily and said, "See? I told you we were due for a win!"

"And if it's all right with you, I'd rather not rely on 'being due for a win' to actually win one," Ren remarked.

* * *

 **I like to think of Ren as the part of me that just wants to yell at everyone. Honestly, I think sometimes everyone needs to be yelled at in order to learn or see a new perspective. That almost always happens whenever my brother yells at me. Sure I get upset, but later, I think about what he said/yelled to me and realize that he's right.**

 **Next chapter: Drago tries to find some answers, but gets nowhere. But when a familiar face appears to help him, he may just find the peace he's been searching for.**


	9. A Lesson from a Wolf

**So, I shit you not guys, when I started writing Arc 4, this was actually the first chapter I wrote - even before the prologue! When I got the idea for this chapter, I just couldn't resist holding back writing it. PLUS, I was running dialogue ideas in my head and I really didn't want to forget it XD So, I am super excited to FINALLY get to this chapter, which I think many of you will enjoy. If not, then I've failed as a writer and will go cry in a corner jkjk lol**

* * *

Mala sat on the roof of her apartment building, watching the sun rise over the city as the cool morning breeze gently blew against her. "Hey." Mala turned around and sat Renita coming out from the door that led to the roof access staircase. "I came out of the bathroom and you were gone."

"Oh, sorry about that, Ren. I… I just wanted to come up here to think," Mala answered, turning back to the sunrise.

"Listen," Ren started, awkwardly scratching the back of her head as she sat next to Mala. "I know I haven't particularly shown it, but I appreciate you letting me stay in your apartment."

"Beats a stinky motel any day, right?" she chuckled.

"My thoughts exactly. The shady characters I can deal with, but the cockroaches?" she shuddered. "So, again, thanks. You've got a really nice place. A bit big for just one person though."

"Well, now that you mention it, I was planning on asking Drago to move in with me. I know he likes living with Liam and Remy, but I thought that, you know, since we've gotten a lot further in our relationship that we should… take the next step."

"But then he decided to leave," Ren said next.

"Yeah…" Mala uttered sadly.

Ren noticed the upset tone in Mala's voice and looked back and forth between Mala and anywhere else but at her, silently and awkwardly trying to figure out what she was supposed to do. Why was she panicking so much? Not even fighting demons or dealing with evil spirits made her this nervous! "So…" she started, just going with the first thing that came to mind, "Do you wanna talk about it?"

"Y-you actually want to listen?" Mala asked in shock as Ren shrugged her shoulders. "Forgive me, but you don't exactly seem like the girl talk type."

"It's true. I haven't exactly been friendly or sociable to any of you since I got here. Remy said I should get to know you all a little better if we're going to work together. He made me realize that I kept deflecting blame on to the rest of you instead of taking responsibility for my own actions. So I've been trying to improve myself. I need to be able to accept that I'm not perfect. Besides, I can't help but feel partially responsible for Drago leaving. I didn't intend for that to happen."

"It's ok. I don't think it was entirely what you said anyway. But then again, he wasn't all that willing to share what was troubling him. I just wish he trusted me enough to tell me what was troubling him! I would have understood! Part of me just blames myself for not noticing something was wrong in the first place. I'm his girlfriend! I'm supposed to know when something's up with him!"

"Still, I went too far by accusing him of being a double agent. Mom and dad always said that I spend too much time looking for the worst in people rather than just getting to know them as they are. I've never encountered people who had a problem with how I talk before."

"Maybe because you've never been around people long enough to start caring about their feelings?" Mala suggested.

"I suppose you're right," Ren smiled. "And you've put up with it remarkably well, better than other people I've encountered at least."

"I shudder to think what those were like," Mala joked.

"Mom and dad did always say I was too abrasive as well. They said if I kept pushing people away the way I do, then I'd never make any friends. At the time, I simply didn't care about that. As long as I had them and the rest of my family, I didn't need anyone else."

"Was there a particular reason for that?" Mala asked. "Oh, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked. It's just that… Nevermind! It's none of my business!" Mala quickly added after noticing Ren grow a bit uneasy at her question.

"No, it's fine," Ren smiled faintly with a light chuckle, a truly rare sight indeed. "Let's just say I understand how you're feeling right now."

"Your boyfriend left you?" she asked, curious.

"Not exactly, but something similar. At first, you don't understand what's going on and think that they'll be back for you. You spend weeks looking out the window for their car, afraid that if you're gone for even a second, you'll miss it when it finally came. Eventually, the realization of what happened begins to set in. They're never coming back for you. You start out sad, heartbroken and more confused than you've ever been. When someone leaves without so much as an explanation, you can't help but start thinking what you did wrong. Was it something you did that drove them away? What could you have done to make them stay? If they just told you, you would have changed! You would have changed for them! And then when you've cried so many tears and you can't cry any more, the anger starts to set in. How could they leave you? They said they loved you and they just turned around and abandoned you without a word!" Ren shouted, her words growing more intense and emotional as she spoke.

Mala sat silently in shock as Ren raged on and on, growing more emotional and intense by the second. She hadn't expected the conversation to turn out like this and she could tell Ren was doing her best to hold it in. "...They?" she asked.

"... I mean him," Ren quickly corrected, but Mala didn't let her use of 'they' instead of 'him' slip her mind. "My point is," she spoke in a calm manner once more, "sometimes people say they love us, but then they turn around and leave without a word and we never see them again. We can't control what other people do, we can only control how we react to their actions," she said, standing up and heading back to the stairs. "I once had faith that the ones I loved would come back for me, but they didn't. But that doesn't mean you should lose hope. If you truly believe Drago will come back to you, then have faith in him."

Mala watched Ren disappear down the stairs and back into the building before turning back to the rising sun as Ren's words lingered in her mind. _'Have faith, huh? Easier said than done...'_ she thought. At that moment, Mala quickly remembered the letter Drago had given her the night he left. It still hurt deeply that he was planning to just leave without a word and only a piece of paper to explain why he was gone. She pulled the envelope out of her pocket, still unopened, still unread. She took a deep breath and sighed before ripping open the envelope and pulling out the letter. She unfolded it and began reading.

 _Mala,_

 _I've never been good with words and talking about my feelings, so I felt this was probably the best way that I could explain myself to you._

 _First, I want you to know that I love you and that I would never do anything to hurt you. Of all the times I screwed up in my life, you were the one thing I managed to get right in the end - after more screw ups - and I don't know what I'd do if I lost you. This last year with you has been the best year of my life, so, I'm sorry if leaving so suddenly upsets you; that wasn't my intention, I swear._

 _But things have been getting difficult for me and I didn't want to bother you with them. I know you'd press me to share what I was thinking, but I just don't think you'd be able to understand what I was going through._

 _I found out I had a brother this year. For a long time, I thought I had put the past behind me and gotten over what I did last year in San Francisco. It took a lot before I could finally forgive myself and move on. But meeting Dragen and finding out that my father was back… it just brought back all that guilt and shame that I thought I'd gotten over. I realized that I still hated myself for what I did and part of me didn't think I deserved what I have now: a good life, friends, and you._

 _But now it feels like every shitty decision I ever made is just being thrown back into my face. Dragen said something to me a while back that's been bugging me for some time and it's made me realize something about myself._

 _I don't really know who I am._

 _I know what you're going to say Mala. You'd tell me that I'm just Drago and I shouldn't let my brother get to me like that. But the truth of the matter is, I really don't know who I am! A person's identity should revolve around themselves first and others second, right? But for as long as I can remember, my life has revolved around other people. What other people thought of me was most important and I built my entire identity around that!_

 _That's why I've decided to leave for a bit. I just need to distance myself from everyone so I can find the answers I'm looking for. I know you'll want to stop me or even try and find me to talk some sense into me. But I need to do this. I need to find these answers on my own and I need to know that I'm capable of doing it without any help. Please understand, Mala._

 _I don't know how long I'll be gone, Mala. But I'll always be thinking of you. But no matter what I find, I swear I will come back to you. I don't expect you to wait for someone like me, someone who's hurt you so much, someone who doesn't deserve someone as amazing you as, but if you do, I promise to treat you the way you deserve to be treated._

 _Forever yours,_

 _Drago_

As she finished reading the letter, tears slid down Mala's cheeks and onto the paper, smudging some of the words. She quickly wiped her tears away with the sleeve of her sweater before looking at the letter again. Drago was right about one thing: he was certainly better at expressing himself through writing than speaking. But had he really been suffering so much and she didn't notice? Well, she did notice every now and then that something was off, but he kept insisting it was nothing. What did it say about their relationship if Drago didn't feel like she would understand his problems? Before she knew it, she could feel tears welling up in her eyes. No, she couldn't cry now. As she wiped away the forming tears before they could begin to fall, she recalled Ren's words about faith. _'I wonder where he is now...'_

* * *

A black motorcycle with red and yellow flames passed straight through town after town, not stopping unless it was for gas or food. The rider, his face hidden by the helmet he wore, maintained a quiet vigil as he rode until the sun set. He wasn't sure where he was going or what he was going to do, all he knew was that he needed to get away for a while, get away from his family, his friends… and his girlfriend. He hated leaving her the way he did and he hoped that she wouldn't hate him too much, but this was something he desperately needed to do and he needed to know that he could do it on his own. With his family coming back into his life and his past choices… it was just becoming too much for him to bear all at once. He needed to figure out who he was without everyone else around him. Once he passed through another town, he pulled aside and went off road into the forest. He parked his bike on the smoothest, flattest terrain he could find and stepped off, removing his helmet.

Drago set the helmet down and ran his hand through his messy, black hair before unpacking the few belongings he took with him. After setting up a makeshift tent as best he could, Drago set about constructing sparring dummies out of fallen trees and anything else he could find. He spent days in the forest putting himself to work training with sparring dummies and courses. He needed time to think, yes, but just sitting in silence didn't work for him. He needed to move around.

"Ok, I guess now's as good a time as any to give it a try," Drago said, pushing himself off the ground. He stood in a wide stance with his feet apart and closed his eyes. He stayed like that for nearly a minute before growling impatiently. "Come on, fly!" he shouted, jumping into the air as if that would somehow kickstart his flight ability. He tried meditating to calm his mind and hopefully levitate, but he was still stuck to the ground. His head shot up when he heard a bird chirp and fly off. He narrowed his eyes at the bird as it flew away, envious that it could do what he couldn't.

"Argh! Why does flying have to be so hard? Linos can fly, Mala and Arran can make their own wings and fly! Why can't I fly?" he shouted angrily, kicking a nearby pebbles into the air along with bits of dirt and punching the trunk of a nearby tree, causing it to immediately split in half as the upper trunk . "Even he can fly," Drago sighed in exhaustion and frustration and rubbed his face with his hands, calming down. "Maybe I should try something else. Ok, um, bird!" He blinked his eyes and examined his body, but saw nothing had changed. "Dog?"

"It takes a greater amount of work than that to change shape, Drago."

Drago sharply turned around as he recognized the voice that spoke to him. He stared at the wolf before him with wide eyes and open mouth in shock and awe. The pale blue, thick furred beast stood calmly across the young dragon demon, locking it's bright red eyes with Drago's own. "L-Lang Yan?" he asked. The wolf closed its eyes briefly and nodded it's head before sitting.

"Believe it or not, you do not simply just call out the animal whose form you wish to take. This isn't a children's Saturday morning cartoon show," she laughed. "You must first understand that animal and how they move before you can do it yourself. It took me nearly a whole year to master shifting between my two forms and I imagine it will take Mala even longer, once she realizes she can do it of course. But there is still much for her to learn about the full extent of her powers," she spoke casually, but without her mouth moving.

"What are you doing here?" he asked in a mixture of shock and annoyance, shocked to see her again, but also annoyed that he wasn't getting the solitude he wanted.

"I was going to ask you the same thing," she replied.

"Shouldn't you be with Mala?" he asked next.

"Shouldn't you?" she shot back.

"I… needed to get away for a while," he muttered, avoiding her gaze.

"That certainly can't be all there is to it. Now, are you going to tell me yourself or do I have to read your mind?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Y-you can do that?" he asked with wide eyes.

"Of course. My secondary power isn't call Heart Reader for nothing."

"So, you can still use your powers in astral form?" he asked, again surprised.

"Only some, but I manage. Now, Drago, what seems to be the problem?"

"I just… with all this crap about my family coming up, my father, the brother I didn't even know existed, it's made me realize something about myself."

"And what is that?"

"I don't know who I am," he confessed as Lang Yan cocked her head in confusion. "All my life, all I've done was change myself to please everyone around me. When my mom died, my old man took me in but he never gave me the time of day. It wasn't until I started acting like him and how he wanted when he would finally pay some attention to me!"

"And after?"

"I did it again, but this time with Mala. I was so desperate for her to forgive me that I was willing to change everything about myself just to please her! The only reason I put up with her human friends in the first place was to get on her good side so she'd like me again! I changed myself into someone she'd approved of and got her attention and love. How is that any different than what I did with my father? What does that make me!" he shouted.

Lang Yan sat silently for a moment before speaking up. "An excellent question. Have you found the answer yet?"

"Yes, I'm a sad, pathetic loser so dependent on everyone else that he can't even exist on his own! I only know who I am when I have other people to validate it for me."

"That is truly how you see yourself?"

"Yes."

"Interesting conclusion. But it is not what I see," she said, standing up and walking around Drago in a circle as she continued speaking. "I see a boy, struggling to deal with the past he thought he had moved on from, struggling to accept the decisions he made being thrown back in his face, someone who believes pushing away those who stand beside him is the key."

"I'm not pushing them away!" he insisted.

"And yet here you stand, alone."

"I wasn't pushing them away!" he repeated. "I just needed time alone to think about this. I didn't want to involve them."

"A decision they would have liked to be a part of, I'm sure."

"Like you'd know anything about what I'm going through!"

"Believe it or not, I know a thing or two about what you're going through, Drago. My experience could teach you something that may assist your struggles and help you find your answer."

"I doubt there's anything you can teach me," he grumbled, turning his back to the wolf.

She sighed, "I can only teach you when you are ready to learn." Drago quickly turned around and saw no one behind him. He darted his head back and forth, but there was no sign of the white wolf anywhere.

Drago didn't see her reappear for a couple of days, but continued with his training regardless, all the while trying to push Lang Yan and her words out of his mind. He had spoken with her before, but the way she talk would talk was so cryptic. It was annoying how easily she could get into his head.

Drago would spend hours trying to activate one of his other powers before giving up and moving on to try a different one. He took breaks every now and then for eating and sleeping, but every other second he had was devoted to his training. On the third day and after meditating and running through his makeshift obstacle course for the fifth time, Drago took a running start facing a waterfall. He dashed towards it and leapt over the edge, falling towards the water below. "Come on, come on fly! Fly, dammit!" he shouted, flailing his arms and legs as he fell while trying desperately to stay in the air. Nothing happened, however and he plummeted into the water below. When Drago resurfaced, he spat the water from his mouth and coughed loudly.

"So how many more times do you intend on doing that?" Drago turned sharply to the shore to see Lang Yan sitting there watching him. "Don't get me wrong, it's rather amusing to watch you attempting to achieve flight by leaping off a cliff. Not how I'd do it, but to each their own."

"What? Come back to criticize me?" he asked, walking out of the water and shaking himself off.

"Of course not. You do that for the both of us enough as it is. But I do have a question for you, Drago."

"What?"

"Why have you never tried your hand with fire constructs?"

"Tools and weapons aren't really my thing. I fight better with my fists and my fire the way it is," he answered casually, taking off his jacket and squeezing the water from it.

"I wasn't talking about that. I'm talking about sentient constructs, like Mala's."

"I-I thought that was just something only she could do," he said surprised as he looked at Lang Yan with wide eyes..

"Creating sentient constructs is a unique gift, but anyone of demon and human heritage can do it. It might be something worth trying your hand at. Now, are you ready to hear what I have to say?"

Drago looked back up to the waterfall that he had just leapt from and sighed. He thought if he trained hard enough then he could finally get somewhere with all these other powers he supposedly had. But so far, nothing worked and he began to doubt that he even inherited any of Shen Du's other powers. With nothing to lose, he turned to Lang Yan and sat in front of her. "Fine."

"But before we begin, the slayer, her words upset you, didn't they?" she asked.

"Of course they did! She accused me of being a mole!" Drago shouted.

"I wouldn't place all the blame on her, if I were you."

"Oh? And why not? She doesn't know anything of what I've had to go through!"

"She's had a difficult life before she found her place. Deeply hurt and betrayed by the ones she thought she could trust, by the ones she thought loved her. And because of that, it has hardened her. While it serves her well in her choice of profession, her ability to intimately connect with others suffers as a result. So closed off, so lonely, so sad. She is running from a past that she wants to forget. You have a lot more in common with her than you think, Drago." Drago looked at her confused, almost not believing Lang Yan's comparison of himself and Ren. But before he could argue, she continued with her words. "When we spoke earlier, you expressed your concern and fear over your habit of changing yourself to please those around you."

"And you said you knew what I was going through."

"Yes. You see, I, too, changed because of someone in my life: Jasper."

"Mala's father." Drago recognized the name and remembered the man well, despite only having met him briefly.

She nodded. "At first, I was just using him; he was a means to an end and when he ceased to be useful to me, I would dispose of him. But as we spent more time together, I found myself reciprocating the feelings he developed for me. I didn't realize until much later that being with Jasper had changed me. I wasn't the same person I used to be."

"Forgive me if I don't sound completely convinced by your story," he remarked, placing his hands on the ground behind him and leaning back as he grew uninterested in her words.

"Let me finish," she said seriously, prompting Drago to sit back up straight and pay attention. "When I first came to this world, the first thing I learned about humankind was the fascination of companionship. As you know, demons often prefer solitude so the notion of wanting to live and enjoy my life with others was baffling, truly an alien concept! Granted two demons joining together in such a manner is common, but our idea of romance and companionship is vastly different from humans'. But I have come to see how worthwhile companionship truly is. When people choose to co-exist with each other, they share their thoughts, hopes and dreams with each other. They also share their fears and hardships and that camaraderie is what makes humans so unique. Everyone pushes each other to be their best, helping each other grow, lifting each other up when one of them falls. And before you know it, you've become a different person, even if the people around you intended it or not. I know Jasper didn't intend to have such an influence on me as he did, and I'll admit, the reality of it frightened me."

"You, scared? I find that hard to believe," he scoffed in disbelief.

"Yes. There I was, one of the most powerful Demon Sorceresses in the world… falling in love with a human, developing compassion and kindness! I was afraid of what I was becoming, of how Jasper was changing me and of what the other Demon Sorcerers would think if they saw me like this. And for a moment, I did push him away. I thought that if I simply removed myself from his presence, then his influence on me would be undone and I would return to what I was before we met. I could go back to the way things were. But I'm sure you can guess that that solution did not work. Even after going back to my old ways, the thought of Jasper and what he would say if he saw me acting the way I was made me upset. I began to miss him and wanted to be near him again; I felt so empty without him around. And the thought of disappointing him with my actions tore at my heart. I sought to run, to isolate myself so I could evaluate what was happening to me and which path I wanted to take. I'll tell you this, Drago, it's so much easier to read the hearts of others and see their desires than trying to figure out your own desires. It made me with that I was someone else and someone else was me so I could ask them 'Lang Yan, tell me: what is my heart's truest desire?'," she chuckled before continuing.

"So you went back to him then?" he asked.

"No."

"No?"

"I'm ashamed to admit it, but the fear of how Jasper was changing me… I gave in to that fear and I let it guide my actions. I took everything of mine that I could carry and I ran. I can't remember how long I was away from him, but all I know is that every moment I was apart from him only brought me sadness and heartache. Like you, I began wondering: 'how could I let myself become so dependent on this one person? How could I let him change me?' But eventually, I realized something."

"What?"

"Even with how much Jasper was changing me, I wanted to be with him. I realized that change is something we all must face and we can either run and hide from it like I did, or we can charge forward and embrace it. If you need another way to look at it, consider Tzan Ren and Hsian Ji."

"Linos' parents? What do they have to do with this?" Drago asked.

"Both embody the very thing I'm talking about. Two similar beings that took two very different paths. Tzan Ren was always stubborn and extremely traditional. He refused to see the growth and change in this world and change with it. He remained stuck in his old ways and look where it got him."

"As opposed to what happened with Hsian Ji? Linos told me what his father did to her because she was becoming someone else. You honestly think that's a better ending?"

"Call it a hunch, but I have a feeling Hsian Ji's story isn't over yet, either. After all, one is still alive, while the other was erased from existence entirely. But where was I? Oh, yes. Being with Jasper made me happier and stronger than I ever had been. For the first time in my life, I felt true joy and that my life had meaning beyond what I was doing for my kind. When I went back to him, he didn't say anything, he just… held me and I knew it was his way of telling me that everything would be all right. If I had stayed away from Jasper, I wouldn't be the person I am now and I wouldn't have Mala. But my tale doesn't end there. Tell me, what do you know of the Crystal Horde?"

"The Crystal Horde? That's your army of crystal demons, like Tzan Ren's Shadow Legion."

"Was," she corrected. "Before I met Jasper, I was a ruthless and powerful leader of the Horde. I had the loyalty of all those who followed me, especially my Commanders: Ratan, Cui Fen, Dai Yu and Shou Zhuo. When I left for my mission here, I placed my right hand, Ratan, in charge. But when I returned, my Horde did not welcome me back warmly."

"Why not?"

"With my mission a failure and the rumors circulating that I allowed myself to fall in love with a human, my reputation was severely damaged. And at the time, I was in such a state of sadness and depression that I simply did not care about anything else happening. As you know, lesser demons become very antsy when they are not given someone to fight or something to conquer. I could see in the thoughts of my followers that they did not like this and began planning something."

"What were they planning?"

"An insurrection. In their minds, I was no longer the fearless and ruthless leader I once was. I allowed myself to get close to someone and therefore, I was weak and not fit to lead. My other three Commanders pressured Ratan into siding with them, which he did, though only on the promise that I would be allowed to live once they seized control. I simply sat and awaited what was to come."

"You didn't try fighting back, at all?" Drago cried.

"No. I had accepted my fate. I knew I did not believe I would ever see Mala or Jasper again and even if I did, they would never forgive me. I had given up hope. So all that was left was to wait for the inevitable."

"But I'm guessing that's not what happened, since you're still here," Drago said.

"Correct. Ratan appeared before me and informed me of the coming revolt. He regretfully confessed his participation and that he defected the moment he learned the other Commanders had no intention of sparing my life. Of course, all this I already knew, but I still did not have the will to fight, until Ratan gave it to me. He told me that I shouldn't give up hope, that just because we were a world apart, it didn't mean I would never see either of them again. The moment we stop having something to fight for, having a purpose, that is the moment we stop living. I realized he was right. I could either lay down and just accept my fate or I could fight and change my fate. When the battle came, I didn't know if I would be able to fight against my own, but I would not let anything stand in the way of reuniting with my loved ones. They chose their path, just as I chose mine."

"So what happened?"

"It was a massacre, and one, sadly, that could not be avoided. Like Ratan, there were some that sided with me, but the insurgents outnumbered us greatly. By the end, nearly my entire Horde was decimated. Both sides suffered massive casualties. I saw no reason to try and reform my army, so any that remained, I released from their duty to do as they wished. That is why crystal demons are considered such a rare sight."

"What about Ratan?"

"He did not survive," Lang Yan said sadly, hanging her head low. "He took a critical strike that was meant for me and paid the ultimate price. In his final moments, he confessed everything to me, including his love. I knew of his feelings for me long ago, but I did not reciprocate. Instead I gave my heart to a human, which he accepted, to my surprise. That's when I learned that when you love someone, you put their needs before your own just as Ratan put his loyalty and concern for me above his hurt feelings that I didn't reciprocate his love. And in his final moments, he didn't ask me to tell him I loved him, he simply said that he was happy to be important in my life and that he only wanted me to be happy. He helped me realize the path to my own happiness at the cost of his own. Jasper made me who I am now and without Ratan, I would not be here; I would be broken, pathetic and utterly hopeless. That is why I helped you in the Netherworld before. When I saw you just floating there, I couldn't help but see myself: broken, pathetic and utterly hopeless. I remembered how Ratan made me realize the path to my happiness, so I sought to help you find your path."

"I appreciate your story, but I still don't really see how it's supposed to help me."

"Then let me come at this another way. You fear that you're changing yourself to please Mala, but do you know the impact you've had on her?"

"My impact?"

"Yes. After my cover was blown and Jasper banished me back to the Netherworld, I watched Mala grow up through my crystal ball and struggle to understand what she could do. She was terrified and scared of what other people would think of her, so she shut herself off from everyone else except her father. Fear was consuming every part of her, fear that would have guided her down a much darker path. But then you came into her life and brought something very important."

"What's that?"

"You brought her hope."

"Hope? I don't understand," Drago said confused - baffled even - at the idea that he could bring someone hope.

"Before she met you, Mala felt utterly alone in the world. No one was like her, no one could understand what she could do or what she was feeling. And then here came along a young boy who was exactly like her: born from two worlds but never truly belonging to either. Just knowing that there was someone out there like her, someone who could understand her, it made her feel secure and hopeful. And then when you came back into her life over a year ago, your influence changed her again. She was still timid and hiding what she was, even trying to deny the demon part of her. Fear still guided her. But her experience with you - even if it was a negative one - it made her stronger, more confident and accepting of who and what she was," Lang Yan explained.

"I… I never thought about it that way."

"You see? In both those times, Mala wasn't changing herself to please you or make you like her. Having you in her life just made her stronger, even if neither of you realized it was happening. Even if you realize it or not, you have changed very much from the spoiled little demon I helped long ago. Before, you were rash, selfish and temperamental, but now you are compassionate and you care for others; your life is filled with so much more purpose and fulfillment. Do you truly wish to go back to being the person you were?"

"No, I was an idiot back then. The person I used to be was stupid and didn't realize how much he had before he lost it all entirely."

"Because the old you could not reach his goals the way he was, but now that you've changed your ways, you've achieved so much more. At many points in our lives, Drago, our conviction to ourselves and others will be tested with the prospect of change. We may anticipate it, or it may completely blindside us. But how we handle the change - run from or embrace it - will shape our future. Who we are is equally determined by both internal and external factors," she said, walking up to Drago as he cast his eyes to the ground in deep thought. "The next step is yours to take, Drago. When faced with great adversity and the prospect of change, how we react to it determines what kind of people we become. Even the tiniest adjustment can make a monumental difference. Take women, for example, we have no problem changing our minds in a matter of seconds. That's what makes change so easy for us to adapt to. Just ask yourself this: Were you happy with them? With her?"

When he looked back up, Lang Yan was gone once again. He had never thought about how he had affected Mala until Lang Yan brought it up, but she certainly was far more confident in herself than she was long ago. He hadn't been trying to change her, it sorta just happened on it's own. But it was different with him this time. He knew he would have done anything to get Mala forgive him and clearly changing himself qualified. He only started acting nice and remorseful over what he did to get on her good side. He even put up with Tim and Mavis! But he never thought in a million years that he would come to like them, view a couple of humans as his best friends. But… he was happy. Mala had forgiven him and he found himself enjoying the company of not just her but her friends as well. And slowly, but surely, they accepted him as their friend despite his past misdeeds. Still though, the idea that he was so insecure about himself troubled him.

Lang Yan's final question came back to his mind. Was he happy with them? Yes! Of course he was! Mala had forgiven him, he had friends that cared about him and overall he was living a good life. Even Lang Yan, who was afraid of how Jasper had been changing her, accepted the change regardless because being with him made her happy. "I'm such an idiot!" he yelled, punching his fist into the trunk of a nearby tree, instantly splitting the tree in two as the upper trunk and branches fell to the ground, leaves scattering all around him. How could he have been so foolish? How could he let all these insecurities and his father get to him like this? It shouldn't have mattered that he had changed! For the first time in his life, he was actually happy. And now what was he doing? Wallowing around in his own insecurities while he just abandoned his friends. Who knows what kind of trouble they could be in at this very moment? Without wasting time on another thought or doubt, Drago packed up his things and quickly mounted his motorcycle, speeding off into the distance.

Lang Yan quickly reappeared and sat down as she watched Drago disappear. "Well, I think that went rather well, don't you?" she asked as a glowing white, four-winged bat appeared, hanging upside down from a nearby branch.

"I still think I should have added something to the conversation, especially when you started mentioning me. I know a thing or two about dealing with change as well," the bat spoke.

"A fair point, but Drago doesn't know you as well as he knows me. Despite his strengths and bravery, Drago suffers from insecurities about himself and his choices. All it would take is one speck of doubt for him to begin second guessing everything. Only one thread need be cut for the whole tapestry to come undone. He wouldn't take the words of a stranger, but with me at least he would be willing to listen. There's a pre-existing level of trust between us."

"I suppose you're right," the little bat conceded with a sigh.

"Besides, he is the one dating my daughter," she added with a pleasant smile, "So I guess you could say I have a vested interest in getting him back to her."

"When can we see our children again?" the little bat asked.

"Soon, soon," Lang Yan assured her.

* * *

 **Did that letter sound as cheesy to you as it did to me while I was writing it? I've had this chapter written out for AGES and had slowly been adding things to it every now and then.**

 **But I gotta tell you guys, do I miss writing Lang Yan or what? Seriously, I miss writing her so much and this chapter is easily one of my favorites! If some of you were a bit confused by Lang Yan's words, don't worry. Sometimes her words confuse me too, which is saying a lot since technically I'm writing those words. But Lang Yan's always had a wicked way with words and the way she talks is very cryptic, like she's giving you hints to figure something out for yourself. She had a lot to say about change in this chapter and I like to think that change is something we all must face at some point and how we handle change speaks volumes about ourselves. How we react can help us grow or hinder us.**

 **Oh, and remember when Dragen mentioned how rare Crystal Demons were when he saw Mala for the first time? Yeah, this is why :3**

 **Fun Trivia:  
Ratan: sanskrit for "jewel". When I learned about this name, I always wanted to use it for something related to Lang Yan and now I finally got the chance!  
Cui Fen: Chinese for "emerald fragrance"  
Dai Yu: Chinese for "black jade"  
Shou Zhuo: Chinese for "bracelet"**


	10. Spark

**Wow, been a while since my last update huh? Seems only fitting since the last chapter was quite the doozy :) That and I got into a My Little Pony fanfiction, something I initially swore that I'd never do. But then again, I'm weak to my creative mind. XD**

* * *

"So Dragen's jealous of Drago?" Liam asked.

"That's what I gathered," Mala answered.

"When you read his mind?" asked Tim next.

"Mala, Mala, Mala, what am I thinking right now?" Mavis asked with an intense gaze.

"Mavis, I don't need mind reading powers to know that you're thinking about food," Mala remarked.

"...Lucky guess," muttered Mavis.

"It's odd though, Dragen doesn't strike me as the kind of guy to be jealous!" Remy exclaimed.

"He's been hiding it well up until now, then," Ren added. "And when you look at everything in the bigger picture, it makes a great deal of sense. According to the memory you saw when you touched Dragen, Shen Du said that Dragen lacks ambition. What was it that Shen Du said exactly?"

"That Dragen could learn something about that from Drago," Mala answered.

"Hm, interesting. Like most demons, Dragen values himself on his power and masculinity. Even if he were feeling insecure or inadequate in some area, he wouldn't let it show because he's far too concerned with appearing strong."

"And he didn't react too happily when I pointed out that Drago accomplished so much more in a lesser amount of time than Dragen," Mala added.

"Makes sense. No ambition, does virtually nothing for hundreds of years and becomes incensed at realizing that his own younger, half-human brother has attained exactly what he wants in a shorter amount of time," Ren commented.

"So, what, is this just all about Dragen wanting friends?" Mavis asked.

"Or, at the very least, a satisfying life free from his father's influence," added Remy.

"Either way, being confronted with this revelation will actually benefit us," Ren said.

"How?" they all asked.

"Dragen's perception of himself has been rattled. Mala has done to him what he has done to Drago. He'll begin doubting himself."

"I doubt he'll up and run away though. That would be too easy," Tim noted as Ren nodded at his statement.

"Right. What's more likely is that he'll get angry. He'll be coming at us at full force, but his anger will cloud his judgement. He'll be sloppy and make mistakes. We can exploit that."

"So what's with the mind reading?" Mavis asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, did you always know you could do it or did it just happen?"

"It just sorta happened, really! I didn't even know I could read minds until it happened when I touched Dragen!" Mala exclaimed.

"Maybe it's part of your mother's secondary power, like the True Sight I got from my mother," suggested Liam.

"Perhaps it has only now begun to manifest," Ren added. "It's difficult to say exactly when powers begin manifesting in half-breeds. Each case is unique. There's still so much that we don't know about half-breeds."

"In any case, it could come in handy. What other powers did she have?" Liam asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine. And if I knew where she was, I'd ask her," Mala replied.

"Oh, this is exciting! First Liam gets True Sight and now Mala's psychic! I wonder what Drago's new powers will be!" Mavis exclaimed joyfully.

"Well, that one's obvious," Mala said, "It would be the same powers as the rest of Shen Du's talisman powers: animation, shapeshifting, flight," she listed. "I always assumed that because we're only half-breeds that we'd only get the main powers and nothing else."

"Then if you've begun developing your mother's secondary powers, there's a good chance Drago can develop his own!" Tim added.

"Too bad he's not here," Remy muttered. Suddenly, he noticed everyone - including his cousin - glaring at him before noticing Mala hanging her head sadly. "Uh, wh-what I mean to say is…" he stammered, trying to come up with a last minute answer.

"It's ok, Remy. He'll come back. I know it," she smiled.

"Is that what your crystal ball showed you?" Liam asked.

Mala looked down at the small orb around her neck as she fiddled with it with her thumb and index finger. "No. To be honest, I haven't been using it that much lately."

"What? Why not?" Mavis cried, shocked that her friend would be refraining from using such a power.

"Because if there's one thing I've learned, it's that the future isn't set in stone. Think about it! My mother foresaw a future where Liao She killed me and I foresaw a future where Liam died! Neither one of those came true."

"B-but, future seeing Mala!" Mavis whined with a pouty face.

"Ah-ah, no way," she insisted, remaining firm in her choice. "I'm swearing off looking into the future! There's too many variables and possible futures to know what is really going to happen!"

"I think it's a wise decision," Ren said. "Such a power is dangerous and has the potential to cause just as much - if not more - harm than good."

"Speaking of harm, you get a lock on Dragen yet?" Mavis asked.

"In fact, I have," Ren replied, pulling out a world map and laying it on the table in front of them. "His signal's been popping up all over the place so it's been hard to pinpoint his location and figure out where he's going. But, I've managed to locate him here." With her finger, she pointed at the state of Kansas.

"Kansas? What would an ancient Chinese key be doing in the middle of American farm country?" Mavis asked.

"Well, I guess we'll find out once we get there," Liam said, holding up Arran's amulet and opening a light portal.

"Man, I've seen a The Wizard of Oz plenty of times and this place sure is… oh who am I kidding? Not even a pop culture reference could make this place exciting," Mavis sighed as they came out of the portal onto a dirt road surrounded by farmland. "You got a lock on our lizard boy?" she asked Ren, who held out her pendulum and silently concentrated. Slowly but surely the pendulum began to sway before levitating and pointing to the south.

"That way," Ren pointed. Linos grabbed a hold of Tim and Mavis while Mala took the two Ryder slayers and they flew off in the southern direction. As they flew, the wind began to pick up and they spotted a tornado swirling in the distance.

"Ah, sweet! I almost forgot this place was tornado central!" Mavis exclaimed. "Get us closer so I can take a picture!"

"Are you crazy?" Tim shouted.

"I'm not crazy. My parents had me tested," she replied.

"Dragen's there, I'm sure of it!" Ren declared, pointing directly at the tornado as her pendulum homed in on the swirling vortex of wind.

"What are you waiting for? Take us in!" Mavis cried, nudging Linos in the shoulder.

"Are you kidding? I may be able to fly, but I doubt I'll be able to stay upright and keep a hold of you two if I get close to that. Remember what happened with Hou Yi? She pulled me right out of the sky because she could control the wind! This is a hundred times worse!" Linos argued.

"Then I'll go," Mala declared.

"What?" exclaimed Remy from her arm.

"I can at least weigh myself down and anchor myself to the ground if the winds becomes too strong. And if I so happen to get hit by debris, there's a greater chance of it getting crushed rather than me."

"She's got you there. Your soft fleshy bits wouldn't do well if a house landed on you," Mavis added as she pinched his arm.

"Be that as it may, you can't just go in alone!" Linos argued.

"It's either that or Dragen gets the key!" Ren argued back before turning her attention back to Mala. "You know more about him than even he knows. Get into his head and he'll crumble. You can do this."

"Thanks," Mala smiled. She handed Ren and Remy over to Linos, who took a hold of Remy with his feet while Ren climbed over to his back. As Mala moved towards the tornado, she could already feel the force of the wind pulling her in. She tried flying back to put some distance between her and the swirling vortex, but her efforts did little against the strangely powerful force of wind. She had to act fast otherwise she'd be sucked right into this thing and swung around like a ragdoll! Mala glanced at the ground below and quickly formed crystals over her body. The added weight sent her plummeting to the ground. The wind still blew at her back, trying to lift her back up into the air as her white ponytail flailed wildly in the wind. But Mala kept her feet firmly planted on the ground and encased in crystal, keeping her in place. With no other options to get closer safely, Mala lifted one foot and took a step forward as more crystals spread on the ground and encased her leg. She continued this slow movement, carefully advancing into the tornado while still safely on the ground. She raised her arms as the winds became more violent to shield herself from dust and debris. Sure enough, she gradually made it into the eye of storm. Inside, the winds were calm while the vortex raged around her. "Ok, now where's that key?" she asked herself. She looked around for any sign of a structure of clue, but there was nothing. And even if there was, there was a good chance the tornado had swept it up already.

Out of the corner of her, she noticed dirt moving as a little green and white badger emerged from the ground. Before she could question it out loud, the badger grew and shapeshifted into Dragen. "Ah, that was much easier!" he sighed before suddenly noticing Mala. "Oh, great. It's you," he muttered.

Mala quickly remembered what Ren had said. She had managed to throw Dragen off his game. And she needed every advantage she could get right now. "Oh, what's the matter? I thought you liked me! Or did the fact that I could see deep into that disturbed little head of yours change your mind about me?" she teased.

Dragen growled under his breath as he narrowed his eyes in a vicious glare at her, neither of which did anything to intimidate her. "You didn't see anything. You don't know anything!" he shouted angrily, brandishing his sword.

"I think you'll find I know a lot Dragen! You're a classic bully! You put other down to feel better about yourself because you know deep down that you're a loser!" Mala shouted, brandishing her own scythe.

"Shut up!" Dragen shouted. He opened his mouth to breath fire at her, but just as the flames erupted from his mouth, they were immediately blown upward by the wind current in the tornado. "What the?"

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but your fire isn't going to work here!" With that, Mala threw her scythe at Dragen, but he easily sidestepped to avoid it as the curved blade struck the ground.

"I won't need it to beat you!" he declared loudly. He charged forward and shapeshifted into a large green leopard and dashed towards her. Mala held her ground and refused to flinch as the leopard advanced on her. Just as Dragen leapt in the air to pounce on her with fangs and claws at the ready, Mala turned and knocked him aside with her thick and powerful tail. The cat landed roughly on its back before quickly jumping back on its feet and morphing into a bull. Dragen brushed his hoof against the dirt and exhaled loudly before charging at her again. Mala widened her stance and held her arms out, ready to receive the bull. She quickly grabbed onto his horns and pushed every ounce of strength she had into holding him back, but he had momentum on his side and Mala wasn't able to keep her footing. She lost her balance and fell back as Dragen trampled over her and quickly grabbed onto his neck, being carried with him as he ran.

"Better not let my shrimp of a brother see us. He just might get jealous!" Dragen taunted.

"And you don't know when to stop talking!" Mala grunted, quickly stabbing Dragen in the side with her two pink claws.

Dragen roared in pain at this and shook Mala off him. She tumbled to the ground but quickly got back up on her feet as Dragen returned to his true form and clutched the bleeding wound on his side before it slowly healed. Before either of them could say anything, something in the sky above them twinkled. They both looked up and saw a slim light blue dagger with a hooked end and dark blue curved hilt. They quickly looked at each other again, waiting and watching for the other to make the first move before they simultaneously leapt into the air. As the tornado continued to whirl around them, Mala and Dragen fought each other in mid air, trying to reach the key that floated above them. Mala managed to kick Dragen off her as she flew up and extended her hand out to grab the key. Just as her fingertips grazed the metal tip of the key, she felt something sharp clamp down on the end of her tail. She cried out in pain and drew back her hand as she turned and saw Dragen's mouth clamped tightly over his tail. Before she could try anything, he released his grip on her, climbed over her back and jumped off her shoulders to seize the key before her. He quickly pointed the key down towards Mala as a spiraling whirlwind formed at the tip of the key and blew Mala to the ground, where she landed roughly on her back. As Dragen slowly floated to the ground, the tornado around them suddenly dispersed.

Just as Mala tried to sit up, Dragen came over to her and pushed her back onto the ground and kept her firmly in place with his large foot on her shoulder. He took the sharp, needle-like end of his sword and stabbed it into her shoulder. She cried out in pain and tried to reach her hand to pull the sharp object piercing her out, but Dragen took his other foot and stomped on her hand hard, pinning it to the ground as she squirmed in pain. "Now, now, I wouldn't move around too much," he teased. He spotted her friends coming towards him and smirked. Raising the key up, he summoned a powerful gust of wind that easily blew them away like dust. He turned the key back onto Mala and grinned maliciously. "I've always heard about how much of a giant windbag my uncle was, but there's a big difference between him and me." He leaned down and whispered, "I might just take your breath away."

He held the dagger out in front of her face as a small air funnel surrounded Mala's head. She opened her mouth, trying to breath in as she felt the air being pulled from her lungs. She tried reaching her hands up to the dagger to disrupt the wind and let her breath, but Dragen kept her left hand pinned while she was unable to lift her right because of her shoulder. He laughed at her weak attempts to break free. She could feel her senses dulling as everything around her started getting darker and quiet. She tried summoning some crystal shards in her hand to shoot at him, but she lacked the strength. Just as she was about to pass out, a fireball came from out of nowhere and struck Dragen on the side of his head. It was strong enough to knocked him off Mala, but not strong enough to knock him off his feet. The wind funnel that was suffocating Mala was disrupted as she sat up and violently coughed, trying to refill her lungs with the oxygen they were screaming for while clutching her bleeding shoulder.

"Who did that?" he shouted before widening his eyes and grinning. "Well, well, well, I thought I scared you of!"

"Get your hands off my girl!"

In the midst of her coughing fit, Mala gasped when she recognized that voice. She opened her eyes and looked to the figure that stood opposite to Dragen a few feet away. "Drago…" she whispered.

Dragen scoffed, "Fine, you can have her. She's stuck on you anyway. Now, I thought I had you running with your tail between your legs like the little dog you are. What happened?" he asked, curious.

"You tried to shake my resolve, but you failed."

"Ah come on, little brother, people don't resolve their issues that quickly," Dragen remarked, slowly walking towards his brother.

"You're right. I had help… from a wolf," Drago said, quickly glancing at Mala and smiling at her reassuringly.

 _'Mom?'_ she thought.

"Pffft, figures! You never could do anything by yourself, could you! Little Drago always needs help!" Dragen teased, putting the Wind Key under his belt.

"Yeah, you're right. I did need help. I needed someone to pull my head out of my own ass and show me how good I've got it now. She helped me find my way when I was lost once before, and now she's done more for me then I could ever repay her for. You tried to get into my head and take from me what I value most!"

"You don't deserve any of it! I'm the older son, I'm the full demon, I should be the one who has everything! And it's not fair that a shrimpy little half breed like you has it all!" Dragen roared angrily, charging towards his brother. Dragen raised his saber to slice his brother horizontally, but Drago jumped up and quickly landed on the broad side of the blade with one foot before immediately jumping off and kicking Dragen in the side of his head. This only made Dragen angry as he advanced, wildly swinging his sword in an attempt to strike Drago, who easily side-stepped each one. Just as Dragen brought the sword straight down onto Drago, the younger dragon caught the blade in his hands and pressed them together tightly to keep Dragen from pulling back. As the two opposing brothers struggled, Drago suddenly grinned and breathed fire right in Dragen's face. Dragen jumped back reflexively and shook his head to dispel the flames. Drago took this chance to rush up to Dragen and punch him right in the jaw. The force of the hit knocked Dragen to the ground and Drago took this opportunity to keep attacking. As he charged towards Dragen, the elder dragon smirked and reached for the key around his waist. He sharply turned around and pointed the key at Drago, causing a powerful gust of wind to blow at him from behind. The wind was so powerful it lifted Drago off his feet and sent him flying towards Dragen, who held out his arm and clotheslined Drago right in the chest and knocked him to the ground. With Drago down and stunned by the hit, Dragen took the chance to raise his sword over and strike Drago.

"No!" Mala shouted, quickly flying over to try and stop Dragen while still clutching her shoulder. However, she wouldn't make it in time as the green blade began nearing Drago's chest. Drago quickly brought his arms up to protect himself as best he could as he prepared to feel the sharp blade strike his arms. What he felt instead, however, was the pressure of something striking his forearms, but quickly being bounced off. He heard something snap as something landed on the ground next to him and opened his eyes to see the end of Dragen's sword sticking out of the ground, broken from the rest of the blade.

"Huh?" he cocked an eyebrow in confusion. Drago's focus quickly snapped back to his brother, who roared in frustration. Drago quickly moved out from under Dragen and got back up on his feet in a battle-ready position.

"How… how were you able to do that?" Dragen shouted.

"What are you talking about?"

"Do you have any idea how much trouble I had to go through to get this? All those weeks trying to sneak into the Metal Demon Sorcerer's armory… for nothing!" he shouted, throwing aside the broken weapon. "And now you mean to tell me that you have yours?"

"My what?" Drago asked. Suddenly, Drago noticed something wrapped firmly around both his forearms. They were a matching pair of black and red armored gauntlets with curved and scale-like patterns over them. Along the main body of it were bright orange spikes. His fingers were also covered in sharp metal armor and when he touched the orange spikes with his finger, it simply passed right through the spikes. _'Solid flames'_ he thought. As he examined the gauntlets further, he noticed a third, matching one on his tail as well. He couldn't quite explain it, but Drago felt an incredible surge of power flowing through him. Just as he was thinking that, the solid flame spikes began glowing and suddenly grew, morphing into long curved blades that matched the length of his forearms. "Whoa…I don't know about you, but I think my odds just got a lot better," he grinned, charging forward to his brother. Dragen quickly brought his arms up to shield himself from the attack, but Drago swung his arms, slicing Dragen's forearms with his solid fire blades. The greater dragon hissed in pain and jumped back. He looked down at the armor on his forearms, which Drago had just sliced through as blood began to pour out from the wounds. "What's the matter? No more fancy moves?" Drago taunted confidently.

Dragen growled menacingly and took in a deep breath and breathed a huge burst of blue flames towards Drago. Drago quickly brought up his arms to protect himself, but didn't feel any fire strike him. He opened his eyes and saw the flames being repelled around him by the gauntlets. The fire dispersed and the blades on his arms suddenly glowed blue like Dragen's fire. Drago smirked and swung his arms, causing two energy slashes of blue flame to fire out from the blades on his gauntlets. The two slashes came together, forming a giant X and struck Dragen dead centre. The force of the attack practically threw Dragen back nearly a hundred feet as the Wind Key fell from its place on Dragen's belt and onto the ground. Drago walked over to the Key and took it in his left hand before confidently smiling at Dragen, who cursed under his breath and transformed into a bird, taking off.

As the demon retreated, Drago moved over to Mala, who stood in place, still clutching her shoulder. The others were just about to regroup with them until Mavis pulled them all back to give Mala and Drago some privacy. The couple stood in silence with their eyes locked before Drago's eyes shifted to her wound. Mala noticed this and said, "I'm fine. Really. What about you?" she asked hopeful.

He closed his eyes briefly and smiled at her. "Better than ever." Before she could respond, Drago wrapped his right hand around the back of her neck and pulled her face towards his. He wrapped his left arm around her waist, holding her body closely against his as he planted his lips on Mala's in a firm and reassuring kiss. Drago's heart leapt joyfully when he felt Mala eagerly and passionately return the kiss as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Twice now he was grateful to that infuriating wolf for knocking some sense into him. He was exactly where he wanted to be and nothing was going to change that.

* * *

 **This was probably another favorite moment in the making. As a show of Drago working through his emotional turmoil, what better way to reward him than with his own Demon Weapon. Since Demon Weapons are supposed to compliment each demon, Drago's is meant to compliment his brawler fighting style rather than be an actual holding weapon. I don't know about you guys, but I don't see him with a sword or staff weapon, etc. After playing some Darksiders 2, I realized the secondary gauntlet weapons that Death had the option of using would suit Drago very well! And for fun, we put a third on his tail. And basically how they work is the spikes are solid flame, but are capable of morphing into an array of fist weapons. All he needed to bring them forth... was a "spark" lol**


	11. Everlasting Storm

**Goodness, was I suffering through some major writer's block! I just couldn't get into the zone for this chapter! . But after a while, I managed to finally kick myself in the butt and power through.**

* * *

"Come on, one more time? Please?" Mavis begged with wide eyes and a pouty face.

"Fine, but this is the last time," Drago relented as flames briefly covered his forearms and the end of his tails, where his Demon Weapon formed.

"Sweeeeeet, so cool!" Mavis squealed, taking one of his arms in her hands and moving her face as close to the solid flame spikes on the gauntlets as she could.

"So what else can they do?" Liam asked.

"Not sure. I'm still getting used to them, but I know I can make the spikes turn into something else," he answered.

"Liiiiike?" Mavis asked. Drago flicked his wrist and the spikes suddenly morphed into large curved blades that extended over his forearms. "Sweeeeet, these are like tonfas!" she admired in excitement.

"Fascinating, it appears you're able to customize the solid flame constructs on your weapon to suit your combat needs. I wonder what other sort of melee weapons you could incorporate," Ren noted.

"What I want to know is how come I haven't gotten a Demon Weapon yet. You'd think that sacrificing myself to defeat my father and the Shadow Legion would count for that," Liam pointed out.

"Well, you did survive. So technically you didn't sacrifice yourself," Remy pointed out.

"But I intended to! Isn't that what counts?"

"Oh, you're just jelly!" Mavis teased.

"So, what do we do with this?" Tim asked, gesturing to the broken green saber that lay on the coffee table.

"Well, we could always just keep it," Drago suggested, lifting up the broken blade by the handle and examining it.

"Oh, souvenir!" Mavis beamed.

"Either way, it is one less advantage Dragen has," Remy said.

"Not quite. It's possible that he is just as effective of a fighter without it. Perhaps we should just leave it here and decide what to do with it when this is all over," Ren suggested as they all nodded in agreement.

"How does it feel?" Mala asked Drago, noticing him examining his Demon Weapon for the nearly the fifth time.

Drago looked down at the weapons on his arms and tail, then to the smiling faces of his friends. "It feels good," he replied, smiling back to Mala. The couple stood there in silence, just smiling at each other, which Mavis quickly noticed.

"Hey, I heard there was this cool new dessert place down the block that we should try… right now!" she exclaimed, quickly pushing everyone towards the door, leaving Mala and Drago in the living room of the boys' apartment.

"But it's not even noon yet!" Tim protested.

"I agree. It's far too early for desserts," Ren added.

"Oh, even if it's a lemon white chocolate cheesecake? I know it's your favorite!" she boasted.

"Wha? How could you possibly know that?" Ren cried.

"You think they'll have something that An can eat? She's not technically a dog so chocolate shouldn't be a problem," Liam said, as Mavis finished pushing them all out the door and shutting it behind her.

Mala and Drago simply stood there, staring at each other. Sure, he had shown up in the nick of time in a grand spectacle and saved her life. They even kissed! But, they still needed to talk things out. Now that they finally had a moment alone, Drago spoke, "Are you mad at me?"

"Yes," she answered simply.

"Did I… Did I screw things up between us again?" he asked hesitantly, holding his breath in fear and anticipation of hearing her answer.

"No," she smiled and he breathed a sigh of relief. "I was angry at first, but then I read your letter. You really have a way with words on paper," she complimented as he chuckled, nervously scratching the back of his head. "If I had known you were feeling like that, I would have done something to help you!"

"I know you would have. But I needed to know that I could do it on my own."

"I understand," she smiled. "So, you saw my mother?"

"Yeah! She showed up out of nowhere and, well, talked some sense into me. Again," he added.

"But then why hasn't she come back yet?" Mala asked.

"Well, you know your mother, always waiting for the right moment. I'm sure she'll be back when the time is right," he reassured her.

"Just, one last question," she started, as Drago gave her his attention. "Am I… Are we still…" she sighed and scratched her head, struggling to figure out a way to word her question. Drago smiled down at her and just as he did before, pulled her into a firm but passionate and gentle kiss. Mala's heart soared as she felt all her uncertainty and fear just fade away and readily returned the kiss. When they pulled away, Mala lay her head against his chest as he wrapped his strong arms around her.

"I've decided something," Drago mumbled.

"Hm?" Mala pulled away from his chest to look at him.

"Dragen, I wanna help him."

"What? Where is this coming from, Drago?" she asked.

"When we were fighting before, just the way he was talking about how he should be the one to have everything. It reminded me of myself… and how I used to be."

"Drago, he's tried on multiple occasions to kill us!" she argued.

"So has Remy! But you saw something in him and helped him see another way. Now he's one of our best friends," he pointed out.

"But… that's different! Remy is-"

"It's not different and you know it. Think about it: Dragen's exactly how I was over a year ago: frustrated, self-entitled, getting angry every time something didn't go my way. Just a huge, spoiled brat! He thinks that doing this will get him what he wants, but I know from experience that living up to our father's legacy only brings pain and disappointment. Someone helped me see what I needed to do to get what I want, to find my happiness. Honestly, I don't hate him anymore, I feel bad for Dragen; all he has is our father and no one else. I at least had you and now I've got all of this!" he said, gesturing with his arms. "You know as well as I do that Shen Du is a poisonous influence," he said, as she nodded in agreement. "I want to help him find his way the way your mother helped me find mine."

Mala's uncertain expression shifted to that of a smile. "My mother must have really said something big. I don't think I've ever seen you be this compassionate and selfless for someone who's done nothing by try to kill you."

"Don't get me wrong, I hated his guts at first. But, I dunno, after a while, I started realizing how similar we really are: living our lives stuck in our father's shadow."

"And how exactly do you plan on helping him? He doesn't seem like the kind of person to accept help, especially from someone he considers an enemy," she pointed out.

"Yeah, he's just as stubborn as I was, but if we really are anything alike, I think he'll listen. At least, I hope."

* * *

Another bolt of lightning flashed as it was soon followed by booming thunder. Dragen stood on the roof of a building overlooking a large lake. This was where it was: the final key and since it was the last one, there was no doubt about which key it was: the Thunder Key. Apparently this place was known for the frequent lightning storms over the lake. The locals called it "Catatumbo lightning". There was another name for it though, "everlasting storm." He smiled to himself, amused that the humans could be so naive to the magic that was causing the storm. The Key's power was clearly influencing the weather patterns here, just as the Wind Key had influenced Tornado Alley, causing these "everlasting storms".

Dragen steeled himself in preparation for what was to come. If he had the vision that brought him here, then Drago must have had it as well. He could feel it in his gut! Their last matchup had gone completely in Drago's favor, in more ways than one. Not only did Drago destroy his treasured sword, but he did it with a Demon Weapon of his own! How was it possible for that little squirt, who was centuries younger, weaker and more inexperienced than Dragen, who was superior in every way, to unlock his Demon Weapon? The very thought of it made his skin crawl.

This was his last chance: the final key. He was going to prove once and for all that he was the better demon, the superior son! A flash of light appeared out of the corner of his eye and he turned just in time to see his brother and his friends emerge from a portal of light. "Heh, showtime!" he grinned. He leapt off the roof of the building he stood on and landed in front of Drago as he and his friends were running down the street. Dragen's very presence was enough to scare away the locals. He cocked an eyebrow in confusion when he noticed the others ready to charge forward, only to be stopped by Drago, who extended his arm out to cut off their path. They questioned him, but he said something to them that made them run off and make their way towards the lake. "Aw, what's the matter? I would have thought you needed the help to fight me!"

"This is a family matter!" Drago called out, transforming into his demon form.

"You really think you can go toe-to-toe with me? I'm superior to you in every way!" he boasted.

"Heh, didn't seem that way in our last fight," Drago smirked, getting into a fighting stance as his Demon Weapon materialized. This clearly struck a chord with the elder dragon, who roared loudly and rushed towards Drago like a charging bull, blinded by rage. Drago didn't flinch and stood his ground, preparing to receive the oncoming attack. As Dragen raised his claws overhead, Drago quickly stepped to the side and swiftly kicked Dragen in the back. The force of the kick sent Dragen face first into the street, scraping his face. Dragen spat the dirt from his mouth and growled under his breath before pushing himself off and wiping his face.

"Lucky shot," he spat.

"Luck had nothing to do with it!" Drago shot back, throwing a fireball at Dragen, who merely swatted it away like a pesky fly.

Dragen charged again as Drago stood his ground. Just as Dragen got close, he quickly morphed into a bull, catching Drago off guard. He tried to step out of the way, but Dragen rammed right into his chest and kept going. Drago held on to the charging bull as he ran through newsstands, chairs and tables, each of which struck Drago in the back. He grunted in pain at each impact before grabbing onto Dragen's bull horns and flipping himself onto Dragen's back. Whether this was actually a better position or not, Drago couldn't be sure because as soon as he got onto his brother's back, Dragen began to thrash about wildly, trying everything to throw the younger dragon off him. Drago held on as tightly as he could, until he couldn't take the thrashing any longer and the horns slipped from his grip. Dragen threw Drago off his back and straight into a brick wall. Drago slid down the wall and slowly stood up, trying to recover from the impact. Just as he looked up, he saw Dragen preparing to kick him with his hind legs. Drago quickly rolled out of the way and brandished a solid fire blade on his gauntlet, slicing Dragen across the front leg. The bull cried out in a roar as Dragen reassumed his true form, clutching his bleeding arm.

"I don't want to fight you, Dragen!" Drago shouted.

"Funny, because I want to fight you!" he shouted back, charging for another anger fueled assault. Each time Dragen threw a punch or tried to claw at Drago, the younger dragon just easily stepped aside and dodged them.

"Why are you even helping him? What could you possibly have to gain by siding with him?" Drago asked, catching Dragen's fists in his hands.

"I don't have to explain myself to you!" Dragen spat back.

"Then let me save you a whole heap of trouble! Stop wasting your time helping him because it's not going to get you what you want!"

"And what would you know about that!"

"I know everything about it! I spent all my life trying to live up to that snake's legacy and be just like him and all it ever brought me was disappointment! And even if you do succeed, he'll throw you under the bus the second he can if it means saving his own skin! He's a terrible father and you know it! You don't have to live under his shadow. You can be your own man," Drago said, suddenly sincere. "I've been on that side and I can tell you that it's much better from over here. I can help you."

He could have sworn he heard Dragen gasp, but the elder dragon quickly pushed him away. He was about to continue his attack, until he heard a booming clap of thunder, which quickly reminded him of why he had come here in the first place. "There's nothing you can do to help me." Drago could have sworn that his brother sounded… sad almost, but before he could question him, Dragen transformed into a bird and took off towards the lake where his friends had made their way to.

"Shit!" Drago cursed, quickly getting to his feet and rushing to the lake on foot.

As Dragen neared the mouth of the lake, he spotted Mala and Linos high in the air in the clouds. He narrowed his eyes, spotting the source of the lightning: the blue and yellow key that floated in the air. He tucked his wings in and dove towards the key and, just as Mala reached for it, quickly transformed back into his true form and kicked Mala right in the chest while grabbing the key for himself. Mala nearly fell out of the sky by Linos quickly caught her.

"You ok?" he asked, helping her back up as they hovered over the water.

"Yeah, I'm ok," she answered.

"Heads up!" they both heard Mavis shout from the ground below. The two demons looked up as Dragen raised the Thunder Key high into the air as bolts of lightning began striking all around them.

"Not again," Mala groaned as she and Linos were suddenly struck by a bolt of lightning. With Linos still holding on to her, Mala quickly raised her arm up towards Drago, guiding the electrical energy from them straight to Dragen. The sparks emerged from her fingertips and straight towards Dragen, blasting the renegade dragon out of the sky and into the water below. The key flew out from his hand and landed on the sidewalk at the edge of the lake.

As they rushed to retrieve the key, a tall, broad shouldered man stepped out and bent down, picking up the key in his hands. "Oh, hey, that's actually ours!" Mavis exclaimed, but the man didn't seem to notice her and simply kept his eyes on the key. Suddenly, An began growling at the man as Ren quickly drew an arrow and aimed it right at him.

"Drop it!" she warned.

"Ren, don't you think that's a bit overkill? He's just a civilian," Tim asked.

"You all might not be able to sense it while he's in that form, but I can," Ren replied, not taking her eyes off her target.

The man scoffed as he looked at the dagger, not once acknowledging their presence with so much as a glance. "Heh, I should have intervened sooner. It turns out I can't count on either of my sons to do something right." Before their very eyes, the man was suddenly engulfed in flames and to the size of a giant. When the flames dispersed, before them stood Shen Du, who let out a mighty and shrill roar.

"You pick now of all times to help?" Dragen exclaimed, pulling himself over the railing out of the lake and onto the sidewalk.

"You have left me no choice, my son. Given the recent… revelation of your inadequacies, it seems I cannot count on you to get the job done, especially now that your younger brother has obtained his own Demon Weapon." Dragen growled under his breath at his father's comment. Shen Du quickly heard the _whoosing_ sound from Mala's scythe as the weapon came flying towards him, but he easily swatted it away. In response, he raised his arm up with the key in hand as the skies suddenly rumbled above them.

"Hit the deck!" Linos shouted. He flew down to the street and wrapped his large wings around his human friends, trying to protect them as they ducked low against the ground as best they could. Mala flew down with him and quickly formed crystal pillars to draw in the lightning first and keep themselves from getting hit. When the lightning finally stopped, Linos opened up his wings, only to quickly push his friends out of the way as Shen Du's massive foot came stomping over him, pinning him to the ground. He moved to swipe at the two Ryder slayers with his claw, but they both expertly avoided the attack. Ren rolled back and fired three arrows in succession at Shen Du, but must have felt like little bug bites on his skin since he barely reacted to them. Remy, on the other hand, avoided another swing of Shen Du's claws and landed on hand. He ran up the length of Shen Du's arm and pulled out one of his blood vials. He bit the cork with his teeth and pulled it out, dumping the contents across the blade. As he reached Shen Du's shoulder, Remy raised his arm high and stabbed the blade deep into Shen Du's skin. The dragon roared out in pain as the blood began to burn him and seep into his body. He thrashed about violently, reeling in pain. Remy tried holding onto his sword as the dragon tried to shake him off, but he eventually lost his grip and was thrown off Shen Du's back. Thankfully, Mala appeared in time to catch Remy before he hit the ground. As he still reeled from the pain, Shen Du absentmindedly stepped off Linos.

"Not so easy, is it?" Dragen remarked with a confident smirk.

"Silence!" Shen Du hissed, finally pulling the sword out of his shoulder. From on top of the roof of the building directly behind Shen Du, Drago jumped down and slashed his father's back with his fire blades. Shen Du cried out, but quickly turned around and knocked Drago aside with his elbow, sending the young dragon tumbling down the street. "Enough of this! We have what we came for!" With that, Shen Du and Dragen morphed into birds and zoomed off into the sky. Ren fired a few arrows at them, but each one missed as they flew farther and farther away.

"Dammit!" she cursed, kicking the dirt.

"Everyone ok?" Linos asked as everyone nodded.

"So what do we do now? We're four for four and that was the last key," Mavis said.

"Well, we may have lost the Thunder Key, but we at least have four keys of our own. That's four less than they need to unlock the Demon King's prison," Ren pointed out.

"You're taking this oddly well, Ren," Remy noted.

"I suppose I have learned to be a bit more… easy going. Besides, even a single key is enough to make the difference in this."

"So, as long as we protect the keys that we have and keep them out of Shen Du and Dragen's hands, then the Demon King will never be freed!" Mala exclaimed.

"Precisely."

* * *

 **My favorite part about writing this chapter was pretty much when I got the idea to include Shen Du in the fight. He's been on the sidelines for a long time and Dragen's earlier accusations were on my mind XD**

 **Next chapter: A string of robberies catches the attention of the Strikers. Meanwhile, Shen Du plots to recruit an old ally.**


	12. The Next Move

"This is getting ridiculous!" Dragen shouted, impatiently pacing back and forth. "Are we just supposed to sit around here and wait? We should be attacking the squirt and his friends to get the other keys!"

"Heh, of course you would make such a bold attack strategy. Like father like son," Shen Du mused as he stood in front of the Demon King's vault door with four keys placed in their respective locks while the other four were bereft of keys. "Now that all the keys have been found, Drago and his friends will likely fortify their defenses. They will see an attack coming a mile away and be prepared for it."

"As opposed to just sitting here and doing nothing?" he remarked.

"Why so impatient, Dragen?" Shen Du asked.

"I just want to get this over with so I can get back to my comfortable life of solitude," he said, looking away and crossing his arms.

"And what kind of life was that? Hiding away like a scared little puppy. You should have been working on this long before!" Shen Du marched over to Dragen.

"Don't start thinking that you can suddenly order me around. You were a crap father then and you're a crap father now! The only reason I did any of this was because I had nothing better to do! You should be so lucky that I agreed to help you on this stupid quest!" At that last word, Shen Du rushed up to him at a blinding speed and pinned Dragen to the wall.

"You would be wise to think about your words carefully before opening that big mouth of yours, my son."

"Why not? Your little half-breed openly rebelled against you and look at where that got him! He's the one who has everything!" Shen Du released his hold on Dragen and the younger dragon slid to the ground.

"No matter, soon he will have nothing but misery. I am going to meet someone," Shen Du said, turning away. "I need you to get me the items on this list," he said, handing Dragen a scroll.

Dragen muttered something under his breath as he took it, opened the scroll and read its contents. "What do you need all this for? This for some kind of spell?"

"A very important spell, yes. I need you to gather the ingredients for me while I find someone who can cast it for us."

"Why would we need someone to cast this spell? Can't you do it?"

"Because the spell is not of demon magic origin; it is a chi spell."

"Why the hell would you want to enact a chi spell? What kind of spell even is this?"

"It is a restoration spell. My father has been imprisoned for thousands of years and that imprisonment has weakened him severely. He will need a restoration spell to give him a, what do they call it, a power boost?"

"So, what it's like an energy shot then? And where exactly are you planning on finding a Chi Wizard willing to cooperate with you?" Dragen asked.

Shen Du chuckled. "That restoration spell was the very same that restored my body and I know just the person who can cast it."

* * *

"This is getting ridiculous!" Mavis groaned, sagging back into the couch. "Are we just supposed to sit around here and wait for them to attack us?"

"Well, it's not like we have to attack them. As long as we keep the keys we got - or even just one of them - out of their hands, then no Demon King," Liam pointed out.

"Yeah, but it's boring as f-"

"Boring or not, it's the smarter strategy. Attacking them poses the risk of letting them get all the keys whereas if we fortify our defenses and are prepared for them, we're more likely to keep the keys out of their hands," Ren explained.

"She's right. You're just going to have to sit tight, Mavis," Tim said.

"Me? Sit tight? Yeah right!" Mavis scoffed.

"Still though…" Drago started.

"What is it?" Mala asked.

"It's been weeks since we fought over Thunder Key and my father and brother got away with it. My dad's not the kind of person to play defensive and he knows that if he wants the other keys, he has to come and take them from us."

"So?" Mavis shrugged.

"So, why hasn't he attacked us yet? We've had nothing but peace and quiet for weeks! I can't help but get a bit suspicious."

"You raise an excellent point, Drago," Ren said. "Shen Du needs the keys that we have in order to release the Demon King and yet in all this time he hasn't tried even once to steal them from us. There's only one logical explanation: Shen Du's plotting something."

"But what?" Remy asked.

"That is the million dollar question. Whatever it is he's planning, he's obviously dedicating his and Dragen's time to it. And if he's prioritizing it over acquisition of the keys, then it must be bad," Ren explained.

"But what could possibly be more important to Shen Du than the rest of the keys?" Mala asked.

"Citizens are baffled by a viral video that has been circulating through the internet," the news report on the TV stated.

"Hang on, turn that up," Mala said as Liam reached for the remote.

"According to this security footage here," the reporter said as a video window appeared next to her and began playing, "you can clearly see a large figure with bright red eyes breaking into several establishments." As she spoke, the video cut to different feeds, each in another location. "The culprit has yet to be caught and the police are looking for anyone who might have any information regarding this mysterious thief. But one thing's for sure, the people are baffled by what appears to be a 'monster' robbing store. Back to you."

"Was it just me or did look an awful lot like-" Mavis began.

"Dragen," Drago muttered, narrowing his eyes. "The footage isn't the best, but you can tell it's him."

Tim quickly pulled out his laptop and began typing. "I found a few articles about it. Apparently all the places that were hit were Chinese herbal stores, not really places that would carry a lot of money on site or valuable goods."

"That's rather specific," Liam noted.

"Does it say anything about what was taken from these stores?" Ren asked.

"Nothing specific, just some ingredients."

"Ingredients for what though?" Drago asked.

"Well, what do we usually get from a Chinese herbal store like that?" Tim asked.

"Chi spell ingredients," Mala answered.

"But why would Dragen be stealing Chi spell ingredients? Chi Wizardry is designed to combat demons!" Drago argued.

"Maybe he's just trying to throw us off our game? You know, do something we'd never expect him to and catch us off guard in the process," Liam suggested.

"No, I have a feeling it's more than that. Either they're plotting something else or they're just trying to get our attention. Frankly, I'm not sure which one is worse," Ren said. "If it's the latter, then they're likely just trying to draw us out into attacking them. That could be why they haven't come to attack us at all lately. But if it's the former, then they have another plan we don't know about," Ren said.

"Then we can't just sit back and ignore this. If they are planning something else, then we need to find out what is it and stop them," Drago suggested.

"And what? Leave the keys wide open to be stolen? We might as well put them under a neon sign saying 'come and get them'," Mala pointed out.

"And repeat that mess with the Coins? Or we bring them with us," suggested Liam.

"It would be safer than just leaving them here. But it does run the risk of them being able to take them," Ren thought out loud.

"Well then, what's better? No defense or some defense?" Remy asked.

"When you put it like that…" Ren uttered. "It seems we don't have many options."

"And it's too risky to just sit back and do nothing about it, even if this is some ploy of theirs to draw us into a trap," Liam added.

"Mala," Tim said, passing her his laptop, "take a look at this. It's a list of everything reported stolen from these herbal shops. Do any of them jump out at you?"

"Hm…" Mala read through the list carefully. "Not really. A lot of these are common ingredients for a variety of spells. Oh, wait, hang on," she stopped, focusing on one ingredient in the list. "This one's definitely a rarity. Not a lot of spells use it."

"What kind of spells?" Mavis asked, hovering over her shoulder.

"Usually restoration spells, big ones too."

"What would Shen Du even need for a restoration spell?" Tim asked.

"Maybe to heal Mo Wang? That's what my father did with the Virgo Sign. He used it's power to completely reconstruct his own body," Liam said.

"No, that couldn't be it. The Chi Wizards in the past weren't strong enough to actually destroy Mo Wang's body. That's why all they could manage was sealing him away," Ren countered. "Although…"

"Although what?" Remy asked.

"Chi Wizardy is quite a flexible art. A single spell could be used for a variety of purposes. A massive restoration spell like this one isn't strictly used for reconstructing a body of a demon."

"Come again?" Mavis asked, confused.

"Just, follow along with me. A spell like this produces massive amounts of energy that gets absorbed by a demon to reconstruct a body for themselves. If the demon that tries to absorb that power already has a working and healthy body, then the energy they'd absorb could theoretically be used to power themselves up in an instant."

"Oh, like an energy shot!" Mavis exclaimed.

"...Not exactly the analogy I'd use, but yes, like that."

"So you think my old man is gathering these ingredients to make a restoration spell so they can power up Mo Wang?" Drago asked.

"Makes sense. The guy has been locked up for thousands of years. He's bound to have lost some power," added Liam.

"That still doesn't answer the question of who's casting the spell. Demons can't do Chi Wizardry. Well, at least not full demons," Drago said, quickly glancing at Mala.

"Then Shen Du must be or have already recruited someone to perform the spell for him," Tim realized.

"You don't think he'd-" Mala started.

"What? Go to the Chans?" Drago exclaimed. "No way they'd help him. And even if he did kidnap that old geezer, he'd just be revealing himself to Chan again, then he'd have to deal with him AND us. Going after Chan's uncle would just be a reckless and stupid move and my dad knows it."

"Well, then who?" Liam asked.

"Were there any other Chi Wizards your father encountered that he could turn to for this?" Ren asked.

"None that are still alive," he answered, before suddenly straightening up. "Wait, unless…"

"Unless what?" she asked.

"Daolon Wong," he answered.

"Creepy mouth hands from last year?" Mavis exclaimed.

"Who?" asked Ren.

"Dark Chi Wizard," Remy answered. "But what does he have to do with Shen Du?" "A couple years back, the Chans destroyed my father's body, which left his talisman powers clinging to animal hosts. From what I heard, Wong was trying to gather these powers. But there was a problem with one: the dragon talisman. My father struck a deal with Wong. Use his magic to reconstruct his body and Shen Du would give him the dragon talisman power. Long story short, Wong has experience with a spell like that and he's the only other Chi Wizard alive that's dealt with my father that I can think of."

"Hang on, if the dragon talisman power was trying to find a dragon host, why didn't it choose you or even Dragen? You both would have been around," Mavis pointed out.

"Maybe it didn't pick us because we already had the power?" he asked, shrugging his shoulders.

"But there's another problem with that: my mother crystallized Daolon Wong, remember?" Mala pointed out.

"Yes, she did, but she didn't smash him to pieces like she did with Liam's dad," Drago countered. And when she died, her crystallization spell on Tzan Ren wore off right? We know that because, well, Shadow Legion. So that must mean Daolon Wong was also freed too!"

"But if he was freed that long ago, what has he been doing?" Mala asked.

"Maybe he retired? Got tired of getting his butt kicked by young, spunky heroes like us!" Mavis exclaimed with a confident grin.

"Retired or not, he's the most likely candidate for what Shen Du needs. We should find him," Remy said.

"Perhaps that won't be necessary," Ren said. "There have already been several robberies recorded, yes? So we can infer that Dragen is nearly complete in gathering the ingredients. And given Shen Du's absence during these crimes, he's likely already recruited Wong to his cause, which means we don't need to waste our time finding him. We'll have to prepare an all out assault on Shen Du."

"And the keys?" Tim asked.

"We bring them with us. Worst case scenario, this is all just an elaborate diversion to draw us into a trap so they can steal the key from under our noses. At least with us, we'd know where the keys are and be able to protect them. There is, however, one thing that still concerns me."

"What?" they all asked.

"This restoration spell. If Shen Du is truly planning on casting one and we can't prevent it, we will have a problem on our hands."

"In what way?" Remy asked.

"A spell like that generates a lot of energy and power and it has to go somewhere; it can't just disappear into the air. If he succeeds in activating that spell, we can't let him or Mo Wang absorb its power."

"What if we had somebody else use it?" Liam spoke up.

"You mean like one of you? I suppose that could work, but none of you are even close to being full-fledged Sorcerer class demons yet and there's no telling what that amount of power will do to the two of you that are half-breeds."

"I wasn't talking about any of us using it," said Liam.

"Then who?"

"How about two Demon Sorcerers, who lost their own bodies and whom we know are still alive and kicking as ghosts?" he suggested. The others didn't quite follow, until Mala gasped.

"You don't mean-" But Liam cut her off with a firm nod. "But, how would they even know? We have no idea where they are or how to contact them! How will they know to come to the spell?"

"I may not know what you're talking about, but I do have an answer to that last part. A spell like this gives off such a powerful energy signature that every demon and spiritual being on the planet will be able to sense it. It might as well be a giant beacon for them to come to. Once that spell reaches full potency, every demon will be clawing their way here to get the chance to use it for themselves," Ren explained.

"Well, then I guess all that's left is to find where this spell's gonna be," he said.

"Leave that to me," Ren replied with a smile.

* * *

"There, I got everything on your stupid list!" Dragen mumbled, throwing the scroll at Shen Du's feet before leaning against the wall and crossing his arms. "Who's this old fart?" he asked, noticing the scrawny old man with pale skin, blue robes and mismatched eyes.

"Feh, you will think twice before speaking to me like that you disrespectful brat!" the old man cried, raising his wooden staff.

"Ignore him," Shen Du called, prompting the old man to return his focus to the large pool of bubbling liquid that he dumped various ingredients into. "My son does not know when to hold his tongue." At this, Dragen scoffed and turned his head away. "You are certain you are doing it correctly?"

"I was the one who got you that new body, wasn't I?" he retorted. "So yes, I know what I am doing. You promise to leave me alone after I do this for you?"

"Yes, yes," Shen Du sighed. "You'll be free to go back to your pathetic life of defeat."

"What you call a life of defeat, I call a more satisfying existence. Between dealing with the Chans and those teenagers, I've had enough. It's not worth the trouble."

"You sure this is going to work?" Dragen asked.

"Of course it will work! They will be unable to ignore the power this spell gives off and once they get here, we take the keys from them, free the Demon King and he will give us our own kingdoms to rule!" Shen Du declared, relishing the idea.

"Great…" Dragen muttered, rolling his eyes.

"What? Now you don't have to go back to a meaningless existence. You can rule these humans as our kind was meant to!"

"Whatever," he scoffed.

"Fine, mope around all you want. When this is all over I won't even need to think about you."

 _"He's a terrible father and you know it! You don't have to live under his shadow. You can be your own man."_ That was what his little brother had said. The same little brother that all this time, Dragen had been convinced was weaker than him. He wouldn't freely admit it to him, but Dragen could see that out of the two of them, Drago was the one who was far better off. Maybe he just got the lucky draw in life? Or was it because he always knew what he wanted? That was probably the one thing he never shared with anyone: how insecure he felt about… well, not knowing what he wanted. He was supposed to have this grand plan for himself to become a powerful Demon Sorcerer and live up to his father's legacy, but even his efforts to do that were a lie. He never got a Demon Weapon of his own! He just lied about it! And even if he had gotten one and become the powerful Demon Sorcerer he felt he had to become, what then? What was he supposed to do after that? He wanted to talk to someone about this, but if he brought up any indication that he was doubting himself, his father would just call him weak-minded and insult him. Maybe he was going a little crazy, but… maybe his little brother had a point?

"Dragen!" Shen Du shouted.

"What?" he snapped, suddenly being pulled from his thoughts.

"I believe we have guests. Why don't you head out and greet them?" he asked. "Wizard, you finish that spell!"

Dragen said nothing as he pushed himself off his place against the wall and began heading out of the underground chamber with the vault door that sealed his grandfather. Four keys sat within four of the eight keyholes, leaving the other four bereft of their own keys. But that was about to change.

* * *

"You sure this is the place?" Mavis asked. They stood within a dense forest at the base of a large mountainside just outside of a large, dark and ominous cave.

"Positive. Not only is there are large amount of magical energy centered in this area, but I'm picking up Dragen's signature as well," Ren replied, placing her crystal pendulum back around her neck.  
"So, everyone remember the plan?" Liam asked, to which everyone nodded. "Ok, let's go in there and stop a Demon King."

"I'm amazed no one's found this place," Mala said, as they walked through the tunnel, guided by the light from Drago's flame.

"The Chi Wizards of old must have placed a lot of enchantments on the area to avoid hikers from randomly stumbling across the area. To anyone else, they'd just see rocks, not a cave entrance, but since we're all used to magical things, we can see past the illusion," Ren explained.

"Well, rest of you I get since you're either demons or demon hunters, but Mavis and I are just regular humans," Tim said.

"Regular humans, sure, but you two have been exposed to magical entities and powers long to enough to fall under the spectrum as well," she answered.

"Did ya hear that? We're part of the spectrum," Mavis smiled, elbowing Tim in the rib cage lightly.

"There's something up ahead," Remy noted as they came into a large underground chamber, lit along the walls with torches.

"No vault," Drago noted.

"Must be further up ahead," Tim said.

"I'm afraid this is as far as you all go." An Gou immediately began growling as all seven of them looked up and saw Dragen standing on the opposite end of the chamber, coming out from one of two hallways leading further in. "You know, I didn't think the old man's plan would work, but clearly he's still got some good ideas. You all just came right to our front door. You might as well save us all the trouble and give me the keys now," he said, holding out his hand.

Ren quickly stepped forward and threw a one of her throwing knives at him, but he easily caught it between his fingers and scoffed before discarding the tiny blade to the ground. "Go, he's mine," she muttered in a serious tone.

Drago opened his mouth to protest, but Liam held out his arm and shook his head. "You've got bigger fish to fry." Drago closed his eyes and nodded, knowing that Liam was right.

"Aw, you want me all to yourself? I guess I can deal with that. It won't matter anyway," he said, watching the others make their way to the second hallway.

"Ren!" Remy called, "Don't you die on me!".

"Heh, worry about yourself, kid!" she called back with a confident smile. He nodded back and disappeared down the hall with the rest of his friends while Ren quickly drew her two sais and took a battle stance.

"You really wanna do this?" Dragen asked, jumping to the center of the chamber and readying himself.

"I was just about to say the same thing to you," she retorted.

"Heh, you're funny, Red. I think I'll miss that the most."

* * *

 **I was so worried that this chapter wouldn't be long enough because it was all just talking. But once again, dialogue proves for longer passages than action sequences XD**

 **Also, I've actually gotten rather far with chapter 12, which I'm very excited for, possibly as excited as I was with the Lang Yan chapter!**

 **Next chapter: Dragen vs. Renita! Only one will walk away!**


	13. The Slayer and the Dragon

**Probably another favorite chapter of mine. Personally, I love the dynamic and relationship between Dragen and Renita X3**

* * *

The red-haired slayer and green dragon stood facing each other in silence. No words needed to be said. Words had already been spoken enough between the two and from the look in their eyes, both knew that all that was left between them was to fight. Ren dashed forward, preparing to strike with her sai, but Dragen raised his arms to block the blows with his armor. Each strike Ren tried was merely blocked by Dragen. Her suspicions were correct: he was just as efficient as a fighter even without a weapon. He pushed her sais off him, causing her to stumble back a few steps. She quickly recovered, however, and prepared another strike, but Dragen caught both her wrists in his massive, scaly hands.

"You know one of the things I always liked about you? Well, aside from that fiery temper of yours. It really fun to see your face scrunch up." As Dragen spoke, Renita scowled at him angrily while trying to pull her hands free, but his grip and strength were superior. "Yeah, just like that! But as I was saying, one of the things I always liked about you was your hair. Red just like a wildfire; you don't see a lot of humans with that. But it was that that made me notice something."

"And what's that?" Ren grumbled angrily.

"That other hunter, he's supposed to be your cousin right? It's easy to tell he's a Ryder slayer. The black hair and green eyes are something you lot are known for. But you? Red hair and blue eyes? No one would be able to notice right away that you were a Ryder slayer too."

"So I have different hair and eye color. What of it?"

"There a particular reason for that? If you really are cousins, wouldn't you have black hair and green eyes too?" he asked, leaning in close despite Ren's attempts to pull away.

"For all you know, I could have just gotten the recessive genes," she replied.

"Maybe, or maybe you're not really one of them," he grinned. Ren growled under her breath and brought her foot up, swiftly kicking Dragen right between the legs. He immediately released his grip on her hands and instantly clutched his genitals, groaning in pain as he keeled over.

"I am a Ryder slayer!" Ren declared loudly with pride.

"Ooooh, touchy. Did I strike a nerve there?" Dragen laughed once the pain from that kick lessened.

"You don't know anything about me! But since you're so eager, why don't we talk about you? Massive sibling rivalry bordering on inferiority complex coupled with a complete disregard for anything, anything at all! How does it feel to have all that power, but have nothing to do with it? How does it feel to know that you can't get what you want with that power? How does it feel to have no purpose?" she shouted.

Dragen, on his knees, growled angrily like a wild beast before roaring loudly, "Shut up!" and breathing a stream of fire at her. Ren quickly rolled out of the way, dodging the flames, but when she stood back up and turned to face him, she didn't have enough time to process her next move as Dragen instantly appeared in front of her and punched her in the chest, sending her right into the stone wall behind. The impact knocked the air out of her lungs and she dropped her sai and fell to all fours, gasping for air. "You humans always think you know everything, don't you!" he yelled, walking over to her.

"That's because…" she panted, "we're far more perceptive than you give us credit for!" Just then, she quickly stood up and flicked her wrist, causing a long, thin blade to emerge from the armor on her left forearm, which she swiftly stabbed into Dragen's side. The dragon hissed and roughly pushed her aside as he clutched his bleeding wound. Ren rolled back up to her feet and pulled out her compound bow and quickly drew an arrow. She released the bowstring, causing the arrow to fly off towards Dragen, but he easily caught it in his hand. He chuckled at having blocked her attempt to attack him, but blinked in confusion when he saw Ren smirking as well. He looked at the arrow tip and noticed right away that it wasn't a traditional arrowhead, it was round, almost ovular shaped. Just as he noticed Ren take cover behind a stone altar between the two hallway openings, the arrow tip began beeping and flashing a red light. The arrow tip suddenly exploded and the force of it blew Dragen onto his back, but he was largely unharmed by the impact. As he pushed himself up, he heard Ren fire more arrows, releasing thick clouds of smoke that filled the entire room. He looked around to try and find his target, but the smoke was so thick that he could barely see the walls around him.

"Another human novelty! You all like to play your little games and hide in the shadows. A real warrior would come out and face me!" he shouted, trying to goad her into a reckless attack. Unfortunately, she wasn't falling for it. Ren stepped carefully and quietly around the room, effortlessly moving through the smoke around Dragen. She picked up a rock by her foot and tossed it to the opposite end of the room. "Huh? Got you!" Dragen shouted, quickly turning his attention to the source of the noise and relentlessly breathing fire at it. Ren smirked and pulled back her bowstring, firing an arrow at him. She heard the sound of the sharp metal piercing his dragon hide followed closely by the pained howl that escaped his lips. She quickly moved from her position in time to avoid another reckless charge from Dragen before effectively disappearing into the smoke once more. "That all you got? Your little smoke games?" he called.

"Not by a longshot," Ren muttered confidently, firing more arrows into the ceiling. The sound of her bowstring however gave her away and she barely dodged Dragen's attack. However, in her movements, she dropped her bow and lost sight of it in the smoke. "Dammit," she cursed.

"You never did answer me before, when I asked if I had touched a nerve," Dragen began speaking. "You know, I heard that the Ryders were all a family, at least back in ancient times. But after a few centuries, between losing members and some descendants not wanting to carry on the family tradition, I heard they had to start some external recruiting. That how they got you?" Ren growled under her breath at his words, but kept her cool and stayed calm. "I bet they came up with that whole cousin nonsense just to make you feel better about yourself, make you feel like you belonged somewhere, huh? It's kinda sad really, how the Ryders just infect other people with their ideologies. How many people do you think they took from their regular lives and turned into ruthless killers? You're so loyal to them. It makes me laugh and just how well they've indoctrinated you."

Ren couldn't hold back her rage any longer as he spoke so disrespectfully about her clan. She pulled out her taser and aimed it at the direction of Dragen's voice and fired. She heard the cables make contact as he grunted in pain. But suddenly, the was pulled forward via the cables and felt a large hand grasp around her throat. She immediately reached with her hands to claw the hand that held her. As the smoke began to die down, Dragen looked at his catch and grinned, pulling the taser cables off his chest before slamming Ren into the ground. She cried out when her head struck the stone floor as her vision became blurry and she was seeing doubles. Dragen loomed over her as she felt another hand wrap around her neck and the grip tightened, constricting her airway. She began gasping for breath and tried prying the hands off her neck, but Dragen was too strong.

"I'm right, aren't I? Whatever life you had before this, the Ryders took that from you and turned you into their loyal little servant! You're no better than me, blindly following the will of someone else because you don't know anything else!" He glared down at her angrily, squeezing her throat tightly, but not tight enough to completely choke her. "What?" he asked, when he heard her weakly mutter something. He leaned in close and lessened his grip slightly to hear what she said.

"Y-you're… wrong," she whispered.

"Oh? And do tell me what I'm wrong about," he said with a confident grin. He watched curiously as Ren reached down to her waist and pulled out something small and black with a red button at the top. Before he realized what it was, she pressed the button and heard several beeping noises above him. He looked up and his eyes widened in shock as he saw six of her explosive arrows in the ceiling. They detonated on her command, causing part of the ceiling to implode and cave in over them. Dragen raised his arms to shield himself from the falling debris, releasing his grip on Ren in the process and allowing her ample time to escape the debris. She stumbled in her haste, but was a safe distance from the debris, which now piled over Dragen. Ren coughed as the dust in the air began to settle only for a blaze of fire to erupt from the debris, incinerating it as Dragen stood up. "Not bad, Red!" he cackled, "You always keep me on my toes!" He opened his mouth wide and let out a stream of blue flames towards her.

Ren, however, made no effort to move or dodge the incoming fire. Instead, she reached for something behind her and held it out in front of her, quickly dousing the flames and leaving nothing by steam.

"What the?" he gasped, stepping back in shock.

In her hands, Ren held the Water Key. "I figured this would come in handy against you." She stepped forward and thrust the key out, causing it to form a sudden jet of water that struck Dragen, knocking him into the wall. "Believe it or not, Dragen, but I understand what you're going through. And I can't believe I'm about to say this to a demon of all people, but I sympathize with you."

"What could you possibly know?" he shouted, jumping to attack her, only to be struck with another jetstream of water. He held his hands out to try and keep the water out of his face, but it had little effect.

"You should sit and be quiet when a lady is talking. Every child wants only the love and affection of their parents, but when they are denied such a necessity, they do whatever they can to earn it. The cruel reality is that not all parents give that love so freely as others do. Some of us are just unlucky."

"Us?"

"Yes, us. You were correct earlier. I am not a Ryder by blood. But you mistake my loyalty and devotion to them for brainwashing and indoctrination. It is nothing like that!"

"Then what is it like?" he asked, egging her on.

"They found me when I was at my absolute lowest. Nobody wanted me, not even my damn parents! But the Ryders did. They didn't kidnap me, they didn't brainwash me, they didn't do anything to me that I wasn't ok with. They gave me everything and more… so I vowed to give them nothing less in return."

"Heh, you don't seem like the sharing type, Red," he chuckled.

"I'm not, but seeing what that rejection has done to you, well, it makes me wonder what I would have become if the Ryders didn't find me when they did."

"Ha! And what do you think it's 'done' to me?" he asked, standing up. He made no move to attack her, but Ren held the Water Key out still, ready to douse him the second he should light up on fire. "Since you know so much about the subject."

"You're desperate for your father's approval, but no matter what you do, he won't give it to you! Not even a single 'I'm proud of you, son'. It's made you despondent. Maybe you don't realize it now because you've gotten so used to your father's rejection that you've become numb to it. You've lived your life under a label that was assigned to you: the son of Shen Du. But you want a label of your own! And all those years of not even being acknowledged for anything more has filled you with nothing but rage and anger. I know because there was a time when that was all I ever felt."

"You don't know me," he muttered.

"But I do! I know you because you and I are the same! You've started hating everything about yourself because you realized that if your own father didn't see anything in you worth giving a damn about, then why should you give a damn about yourself." He made a move to attack her, but she readied the Water Key, causing him to back down. "I know because I've felt that. I hated everything about myself because that's what everyone hated about me. But then someone came into my life and cherished the thing that I hated most about myself. He gave me a choice: stay where I was or risk everything and go with him. I had nothing to lose, so I made my choice and I don't regret it."

"You think your little sob story is going to change anything?" he shouted. "Why are you suddenly so interested in these pointless attempts to turn me?"

"Because Drago thinks that you're worth saving. Personally, I don't. I think you're just another obstacle in our way and that you're incapable of changing. You're scared. But that's ok. Change is scary to everyone. I don't expect my words to sway you, all I'm saying is, you can make your own choices. You don't have to live in the shadow of your rage and anger, Dragen. So tell me, which one of us is right? Me or Drago? Are you worth saving?" Once she finished her sentence, she turned around and made her way towards the hall deeper into the underground structure.

"Hey! Get back here! Don't you walk away from me! I'll kill you!" he threatened, trying to get her attention back on him.

"No, you won't," she said without turning around.

Dragen frantically looked around and spotted one of her sai. He quickly moved over to it and picked one up in his hand before charging towards her with a mighty roar. Ren quickly turned around and blocked her own sai with the Water Key. Dragen reached up with his other hand to seize Ren's arm, trying to get her to let go of the key. But Ren was fast. Just as Dragen's hand reached for her, she flicked her wrist, bringing out the hidden blade and sliced his palm, causing him to pull his hand back. He tried slashing her with that same hand, but she side stepped out of the way and he only managed to slice off some of the explosives on her belt. The explosives scattered to the ground behind Dragen as they continued wrestling for the dagger, each of them weakened from exhaustion and injury.

By the time Ren noticed her fallen explosives, she realized Dragen had not only knocked them off her person, but also knocked them out of their pins. The grenades exploded and their combined force blew the pair into each other and into wall, Dragen over Ren. The earth shook violently at the explosion as parts of the ceiling came loose again, but thankfully, the entire cavern didn't cave in.

When the dust finally settled, Dragen groaned and pushed himself up with his hand, rubbing his aching head with the other. He felt something trembling beneath his hand and heard a faint and weak groan. Dragen opened his eyes and gasped at the sight beneath him: Ren lying on a pile of debris, breathing irregularly as the Water Key's two prongs were stabbed into her abdomen just right of her belly button. Dragen quickly pulled away, removing his hold of the key that had been stabbed into her. She gasped and panted, inhaling sharply as she tried to bear with the pain. With trembling fingers, she weakly tried to reach for the key that impaled her, but her hand was so weak that she couldn't even get a firm grip on it. Dragen just stood there, watching her as she struggled and blood slowly poured from the wound down the side of her abdomen and began collecting on the ground beneath her.

"I… I didn't think it w-would end l-like this…" she whispered weakly between labored pants. Dragen said nothing, and just stood there quietly watching her. He knew human bodies were just naturally weaker than demons. But to see her, of all the humans he had met and the only one who could go toe to toe with him, dying? He wasn't sure how to process what he was feeling. He should he happy, relishing in his victory, that he had won! But… all it left him feeling was hollow regret. "Th-there was still so much… I wanted to do, so much unfinished." She turned her gaze over to Dragen when she heard movement and watched helplessly as he reached for the key's handle once more. She groaned when she felt the key move within her as he wrapped his hand around it. He suddenly pulled the key out of her and she cried out in pain. She relaxed back down against the debris she lay against and weakly tried to cover her wound, now bleeding more profusely, with her hand, but she lacked the strength to even apply any pressure on it.

Dragen looked at the Water Key in his hand as the two pronged tip was drenched in her blood, slowly dripping off the ends. He caught one drop in the palm of his other hand and was surprised when he felt no pain at the contact. He had seen the effects of the Ryder hunter blood on other demons and he initially assumed her blood would have the same effect. But it seemed his suspicions were correct: she wasn't a Ryder, at least, not by blood relation.

"What's wrong?" she asked weakly as her eyes began drooping. "You look… sad."

"I thought… I thought this was what I wanted," he said, so unsure.

"You beat me," she said simply.

"No, I didn't beat you, not really. I just got lucky. This," he said, gesturing to her bleeding wound, "isn't a real victory. I never wanted to kill you, Red," he admitted. "You were the only one who could really match me and I never expected that from a human, let alone a girl. I just… I don't know."

"It doesn't matter now. There's nothing you can do to change this. Go ahead," she muttered, her eyes refusing to show fear as she closed them and relaxed, "Finish it."

* * *

 **Oh noes, cliffhanger? I wouldn't kill Ren, would I? . . . You'll just have to wait and see what fate befalls the slayer!**

 **And of course, there you have it! While it didn't go too deep, there is, at the very least, a brief explanation on why Ren is the way she is. Wanna know how this all came to be? Well, remember when I said how when we were first concepting a female Ryder hunter, we originally saw her as just a girl version of Remy, but changed it and gave her red hair to make her more unique? D-Sniper and I played around with the idea that she might be adopted. Given the Ryders' long history and likely dwindling numbers over that history, it's not crazy to say they did some external recruiting. But we felt like Ren needed a bit more of a compelling backstory as to how she was recruited. Enter the sixth sense attribute, which was inspired by Shaman King, which I was rereading at the time we made her. TLDR: the main female character Anna Kyoyama is revealed to have been abandoned by her birth parents due to her extrasensory and mind reading powers before being taken in by the Asakura and trained to properly use them. Anna was one of those characters that you kinda don't like at first because she's a huge bitch, but after reading her backstory, I really started to like her, which was something I wanted for Ren.**

 **Next chapter: The Strikers confront Shen Du.**


	14. Confrontation

**Got rather writer's blocked with this one, but I found a way. Honestly, I don't think this is one of my best, but I hope you guys still like it :)**

* * *

"There, your spell is ready," Daolon Wong said, standing up over the pool of bubbling orange liquid.

"Excellent," Shen Du hissed, "And it will work the same way?"

"Yes, he just needs to get in there and the spell will do the rest."

"Not so fast!" Shen Du and Daolon Wong looked up at the entrance to the chamber.

"You again?" Wong exclaimed with wide eyes.

"Oh hey, you were right Drago! It is creepy mouth hands guy!" Mavis pointed out.

"My name is Daolon Wong!" he shouted. The group quickly dispersed and took cover behind stone pillars that decorated the interior of the chamber when Shen Du threw a fireball towards them.

"Don't just stand there, wizard! Do something!" Shen Du shouted.

"Oh no," he chuckled, "I've done my job and I'm not getting involved with these kids again! I learned my lesson last time!" Wong raised his hand behind him and opened a swirling blue vortex. He promptly jumped into it, disappearing as the portal closed behind him.

"Why you!" Shen Du hissed angrily. "No matter, I can finish you children off myself! I have what I needed from the wizard!"

"Tim, Mavis, you're on spell duty!" Linos called from behind one pillar.

"On it!" Mavis called, pulling Tim behind her by his wrist.

"An, you watch their back," Linos said as his faithful companion barked happily before following after the two humans.

"You too Pearl," Mala added.

"What about the rest of us?" Drago asked.

"We keep your dad busy while Tim makes his alterations to the spell," Linos shouted back over the roaring flames.

"And then?" Remy asked.

"Then when demons and spirits start pouring in here, we keep them from getting to the spell!" Linos poked his head out from behind the pillar once a stream of fire had stopped and unleashed a sonic scream directly at Shen Du. The dragon roared and hissed in pain as he clutched the side of his head. "Now!"

On his call, Mala, Drago and Remy emerged from their cover while Linos kept Shen Du at bay with a sonic scream. Remy held out his hand, calling Starshatter to him and sent multiple starbolts towards Shen Du, striking him right in the chest. The force of the blow knocked him back slightly, but he stood his ground. When Linos' sonic scream finally stopped, Shen Du uncovered his ears and looked up just in time to see Drago right in front of his face to deliver a swift punch across his jaw. The Demon Sorcerer was knocked to the ground and Mala jumped over him and drove her scythe straight into his chest.

"Did that seem… easy?" Linos asked.

"If it were that easy to cut down my father, I'd have done it a long time ago," Drago replied. "Mala, get back from there!"

Mala looked down as she stood on Shen Du's chest with her scythe still piercing his skin. She felt him began to move beneath her and stand up and she jumped away, narrowly avoiding a swipe of his claws. Shen Du growled under his breath as he stood up and pulled the scythe from his chest as the wound magically healed itself before their eyes.

Seeing this, Remy quickly reached into one of his pouches and pulled out three slim vials of his blood. "Mala!" he called, throwing the vials into the air over Shen Du. Mala quickly caught on and threw crystal shards towards the vials, shattering them and spilling their contents onto Shen Du below. On contact, the blood began sizzling and burning the dragon's flesh as he violently thrashed about as reeled in pain.

"You'll pay for that!" Shen Du howled in fury.

As the rest of them engaged the furious Demon Sorcerer in battle, Tim and Mavis hovered over the bubbling pool of orange liquid.

"That's the spell? Looks more like soup to me," Mavis commented as she reached out to dip a finger into the pool.

Tim quickly grabbed her wrist and pulled it back from the liquid. "Please don't tell me you were planning to do what I think were," he said.

"What do you think I was going to do?" she asked.

"Oh, I dunno, try the 'soup'?" he asked, with much attitude.

"Ok, I won't tell you," she replied, pulling her hand out of Tim's grip and crossing her arms defiantly. "So, what's the diagnosis, Doc?" she asked as Tim dropped his messenger bag on the ground next to him and pulled out a large book.

"Well, our theory was correct. Based on the consistency and properties of this 'soup', as you so eloquently called it, Daolon Wong definitely put together a powerful restoration spell. All it needs is the user to, well, simply put, take a bath in it," he said, flipping through the pages.

"So, what do we have to do?" she asked.

"Well, it's not set to reconstruct a body, much less the bodies of two Demon Sorcerers. But we can change that. Here, start grinding up these dried seahorses," Tim said, reaching into his bag and handing her three dried seahorses.

"Sure. How my future children will be so proud when I tell them how I helped save the world… by cooking. The women of the world would be so proud," she replied facetiously.

"Oh be quiet and start grinding," he said, pulling out more ingredients while consulting his book.

"Bow chicka bow wow," she quickly muttered.

"Mavis!"

"Ok, ok I'm grinding the seahorses! I guess it's not all bad. This'll be like the time I made my famous Callahan chili!"

"The same chili that set my mouth on fire?"

"You just have weak taste buds. Callahan family chili is not for the weak!" she declared, dumping the bowl of ground up seahorses into the pool.

Once they were done adding all the ingredients, Tim leaned back and sighed. "Ok, I think that should do it."

"Still looks the same," Mavis commented. "You sure we did it right?"

"Of course I'm sure!"

"Just making sure. You did once make a multiplication error."

"Ugh and you never let me forget it!"

All of a sudden, ones of the chamber walls blew open as horde of little demons and spirits entered the chamber, frantically flying into each other. "What the hell?" Drago cursed.

"We're running out of time!" Linos called.

"But they're not here yet!" Mala shouted.

"Then we have to stall! Drago, can you take your old man?" Linos asked.

"It would be my pleasure!" Drago grinned, cracking his knuckles as the flaming spikes on his bracers became glowing bright before transforming into large curved blades over his forearms. As Drago rushed to engage his father, Mala, Linos and Remy fell back to Tim and Mavis, who held the power hungry lesser demons back with the Tortoise Coin's shield. With one swift attack from each of the three, the lesser demons fell and the few that slipped through the cracks dispersed.

"Finally! I wasn't about to hold that thing forever!" Mavis sighed, putting down her arm.

"That's only the first wave. More are bound to show up and we can't let a single one of them, not even the tiniest little demon, get into this pool!" Linos ordered.

"And what about Drago?" Mala asked in worry, watching as Drago just barely managed to dodge another one of Shen Du's swipes.

Linos looked over to Drago as well before turning back to Mala, "Drago can handle himself. Right now, this is our priority! We're pulling out all the stops on this one! Did I use that one correctly?" he quickly asked Mavis and Tim, both of whom nodded. "Not a single demon gets past us!"

"Oooohooohooo, epic stand off time!" Mavis squealed in delight. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the curved, square Bear Coin. With it squeezed tightly in her hand, she punched her other palm and grinned widely. "Let's do this!" As if on cue, another wave of demons flooded into the chamber. Some tried going straight for the pool, only to be cut down by those defending it while others fought with each other, trying to eliminate the competition. Starbolts, crystals, chi energy blasts and shadow tendrils moved in a hectic and crazed dance, striking nearly everything that moved. One snarling ghoulish demon made a rush for Mavis, but she drew back her hand and punched it right in the jaw. Her strength enhanced greatly by the Bear Coin, the force of the blow sent the little ghoul demon flying to the other side of the chamber, knocking aside several other demons like bowling pins along the way. "Hey, heads up!" Mavis shouted, pointing up to a small white bat that flew in from the chamber's breach.

Linos followed Mavis' line of sight and spotted the little spirit. His face lit up in joy for a brief moment before he steeled himself once more. He had to stay focused! Linos whistled loudly before crying, "Mom!" to draw the spirit's attention. It worked, and the little bat flew towards him as fast as her tiny wings could carry her. But before she could even get close, a large winged demon swooped down and pinned her to the stone floor. She struggled against its grip while the demon pinning her reared its ugly misshapen head high, sharp beak opened and ready to move in for the kill. "No!" Linos rushed forward without thinking and delivered a swift punch to the avian's gut, knocking it straight into a ceiling as it whimpered weakly. He picked up the little spirit in his hands and quickly flew back to the pool as his friends covered his retreat. "You're gonna be all right, mom," he whispered tenderly as he gently placed her into the bright orange-red waters of the pool. The white sprite disappeared beneath the surface as the liquid began bubbling. Brown vines emerged from the pool, forming protective over a bright orange egg. Between the vines, he could just make out a small figure with large wings wrapped around herself and a long ponytail of black hair. He smiled at the sight of this before Mavis' shouting snapped him out of his absent mindedness. "Quit lollygagging! We could use some help up here!"

"Right, sorry!" he quickly returned to his friends' side to repel the demons, which had only begun coming at them harder. Now that one spot in the spell had been occupied, there was only room left for one.

"Where is your mom? We can't hold out forever!" Remy cried, slicing through another demon with his sword before blasting away five at once with starbolts from Starshatter.

"She'll be here!" Mala cried. "I know it!"

"Future seeing?" Mavis asked.

"Gut instinct!" she cried back.

Meanwhile, Drago dodged another blow from his father. Drago rolled behind him and jumped up, jabbing the flame blade on his forearm into his right side. Shen Du hissed and whacked Drago away, but before the larger dragon could continue his attack, he was besieged by a swarm of lesser demons. "Agh, get off me you insignificant insects!" he hissed, breathing fire on his weakling attackers. Drago smirked as he saw his father being overwhelmed before glancing over at his friends, whom he saw being overwhelmed by demons themselves. He rushed back over to them, taking out as many demons on his way as he could.

"There she is!" Mala's face lit up at the sight of the white wolf entering the chamber. "Cover me!" she cried, rushing out into the chaos as her mother bobbed and weaved her way through the fighting demons. Mala dashed forward, mercilessly cutting through the demons in her path with her scythe as she and her mother raced to meet each other. Releasing the scythe from her grip, she put her hands together and lowered them to the ground just as Lang Yan neared her. The wolf stepped onto Mala's armored hands as she thrust her arms up and back, sending Lang Yan flying over the demons behind Mala and diving right into the pool. Almost immediately, a vine covered egg exactly like the one that contained Hsian Ji emerged from the surface. "Yes!" she exclaimed.

"Nooo!" Shen Du bellowed angrily, tearing through the lesser demons and quickly catching Mala off guard by seizing her in his large hand.

"Let go of her!" Drago shouted, charging angrily towards his father.

"Fine! Take the spell. Bringing back two Demon Sorceresses will do you little good when the Demon King is freed. I'll even allow your mother the chance to watch as I finish you!" Shen Du declared, opening his mouth and breathing fire right onto Mala. However, she quickly crystallized herself and could already feel the electric energy forming in her crystal body. When Shen Du stopped his fire breath, he gasped in shock at her unsinged body. "What?" Before he could utter another word, Mala pressed her hands against Shen Du's skin, quickly sending the electrical energy in her body straight into his. Shen Du cried out in pain and released his hold of Mala, who easily landed on the ground as Drago reached her side.

"I'm fine," she quickly said before he could ask as they both fell back.

"At least no more demons are showing up. What now?" Mavis asked.

"We protect our moms," Linos said. "The spell is still working and until their bodies are done regenerating, they're still vulnerable. The three of us will keep Shen Du's focus," Linos said, referring to himself, Mala and Drago. "The rest of you get to that door and get the rest of the keys out!"

"We're on it!" Remy exclaimed, leading Tim and Mavis safely around Shen Du, who continued his attack on the three younger demons. When they reached the door, Mavis quickly reached up to one of the keys sticking out of a keyhole and tried pulling it out.

"Wow, that bugger is really in there!" she grunted, pulling on the key with all her might. But even with Tim and Remy helping, the key would not budge.

"It must be some kind of magic precaution! Something to keep the keys from ever being removed once they were in. I'm betting they won't come out unless all the keys are inserted," Tim explained.

"Which is the exact opposite of what we want!" Remy cried.

"Let me see if I can find some sort of spell to counter this," Tim said, pulling out his spellbook.

"Ugh, it's gonna take forever to look through that whole thing!" Mavis complained. "Where's Control F in real life when you need it!"

"Yeah, no kidding. As soon as we're done here, I'm taking Ren's advice and digitizing our entire library of Chi Wizardry books!" Tim agreed.

While Tim searched, Linos let out another sonic scream as Shen Du covered his ears and whined in pain. He extended one of his arms out and smacked Linos aside, ending the accursed shriek. Drago took his chance to pounce on his father from behind. Shen Du was quick to react however, and grabbed a hold of Drago by the fabric of his jacket and holding the little dragon in front of him like a captured insect. "I should have gotten rid of you long ago when I had the chance!"

"Yeah, you should have, but mom outsmarted you!" Shen Du hissed angrily and threw Drago to the other side of the chamber, the side they originally entered from. He collided roughly with the wall on his back and fell to the ground on his stomach, unconscious. Shen Du swiftly grabbed Linos and Mala in each of his hands and slammed them against the wall, pinning them in place with his massive hands.

"Did you two really think it was going to be that easy?" he hissed, leaning his face closer to the two menacingly. Linos and Mala both struggled against his grip, but he was far physically stronger than the two of them. "Forget what I said earlier. I'll finish you both off right now! I can't wait to see the look on both your mothers' faces when they see the remains of their children burnt to a crisp and after you both worked so hard to bring them both back!" Shen Du reared his head high as flames formed around his lips. He opened his mouth, preparing to unleash flames onto them, when suddenly…

 _CRACK!_

Shen Du's eyes widened in horror as he suddenly flinched and the flames forming around his mouth died down. Linos quickly took this chance to sink into his shadow against the wall, before quickly dashing over to Mala and pulling her in with him as well. He emerged with her adjacent wall and Mala quickly dashed over to the unconscious Drago. From there, the two young demons watched in awe as the rejuvenating eggs - much larger than before - that held their mothers slowly cracked. A small, curved horn poked through from the top of the egg as semi-transparent, orange fluid began seeping through the cracks of the shell membrane. The horn poked further and moved around, breaking off more of the shell, allowing a second, identical horn to begin prodding through. Suddenly, the surface of the rest of the egg slowly began expanding and cracking, as if the one inside was pressing up against the casing around them. The two horns suddenly thrust down vertically, shattering part of the egg in a straight line as bright red eyes suddenly appeared from within. The egg suddenly exploded, sending pieces of it flying across the chamber room and orange fluid spraying on the floor, ceiling and walls nearby. Linos watched in awe as a smile formed across his face. With her enormous wings spread wide and head reared back, Hsian Ji let out a piercing shriek, like a cry of victory and vigor to celebrate the sheer joy of her return. When she finally finished, she fell forward and hunched over. Linos reached out, ready to come to her aid, but stopped when he saw the second egg begin to crack as well. Instead of the slow, hesitant emergence Hsian Ji had performed, Lang Yan wasted no time. She thrust her left arm out of the egg, causing the orange fluid to quickly drain into the pool below. Almost immediately, she dug her fingers into the rest of the egg surrounding her and tore it open before bursting out in all her glory. Purple fabric and long white locks flowed down elegantly as she let out a triumphant roar, though not to the pitch and intense degree of Hsian Ji's, before sighing pleasantly and wiping the residual fluid off her body. She raised her arms, examining them and her armor before examining the rest of her body and cracking her neck and rotating her shoulders.

"Now, forgive me if I'm wrong because it was awfully hard to hear from inside there, but did I hear him say something about killing our children in front of us?" Lang Yan asked as Shen Du slowly turned around, staring at the two Demon Sorceresses with wide eyes in shock.

"Quite so, but he amended that statement to seeing our reactions to their charred corpses," Hsian Ji replied.

"There's something you should know about mothers, Shen Du, and that is we do not take kindly to threats against our children!" Lang Yan declared in a serious tone as she cracked her knuckles. She smirked confidently and flexed her arms, causing her signature twin crystal chakrams to manifest over her back.

"I may be a bit rusty, but we just cannot allow such an infraction go without punishment. Shall we, Wolf Eyes?" Hsian Ji asked, crouching and spreading her wings, ready to attack with her metal nails at the ready.

"After you, Songbird," Lang Yan replied.

* * *

 **I am so happy that we are finally here at this spot in the story. I just... man, the goosebumps and excited giddy laughter I had while writing up this last bit! We had this idea all the way back in Arc 2. You see, after I killed off Lang Yan, I almost immediately wanted to bring her back in some epic way. We reasoned it was possible, given the resurrection spell that brought Shen Du back in season 3 from nothing more than an astral form. But then we realized, if it could bring Lang Yan back, then why not Hsian Ji too?**

 **Next chapter: Can Lang Yan and Hsian Ji even the playing field? And when Dragen joins the fray, who does he side with?**


	15. Resurrection

**Had a bit of writer's block again, plus I'm tired as fuck. Can't wait for xmas break.**

* * *

"Shall we, Wolf Eyes?" Hsian Ji asked, grinning widely as she bounced up and down in excitement.

"After you, Songbird," Lang Yan returned Hsian Ji's smile and held out her arm, gesturing for the songstress to go first.

"Cover your ears, children!" she declared. She raised her head high and took a deep breath as everyone else quickly covered their ears, including Lang Yan. Then, Hsian Ji leaned forward, opened her mouth wide and let out the loudest sonic scream any of them had ever heard. Stone from the floor and ceiling broke off from the sheer force of the scream as it suddenly and powerfully struck Shen Du, knocking him right into the magic door. When the scream finally ceased, Hsian Ji hunched forward and coughed. "It appears I am more rusty than I thought," she said, clearing her throat.

"Then why not let me take the lead?" Lang Yan asked, casually cracking her knuckles. "I've only been in astral form for a few months. It's only natural that years without a physical body would take it's toll. Join in when you're ready." With that, Lang Yan jumped out of the remains of the rejuvenating egg and dashed up towards Shen Du with incredible speed. Before Shen Du could push himself off the wall Hsian Ji had literally screamed him against, Lang Yan's heels struck him right in the middle of his chest. The sudden attack shocked him as he desperately gasped for air. He didn't get a chance to counter, however, as Lang Yan swiftly thrust her right leg up, striking Shen Du's jaw with her armored heels. With her left leg, she pushed off Shen Du's chest and backflipped onto her feet. As he recovered from the attack, Lang Yan grabbed Shen Du and threw him over her shoulder to the opposite end of the chamber with ease. He splashed into the now powerless pool, crashing into and destroying both roots that had held Lang Yan and Hsian Ji's eggs while the latter easily jumped over the tumbling dragon. She clapped her hands before leaping into the air, backflipping and landing on all fours in her wolf form. She reared her head and let out a majestic howl before advancing on Shen Du, snarling viciously. However, Shen Du recovered and gathered himself. Standing proud and tall, he raised his arm to attack Lang Yan as she drew near, but she swerved to the side to avoid his attack. As he focused solely on the wolf, throwing fireballs at her, he failed to see the bat swoop down and scratch him on the head. Hsian Ji flew back for another attack, slicing Shen Du's chest and arms with the metal nails on her wings.

As the two Demon Sorceress mercilessly assaulted Shen Du, the young teenagers regrouped and watched the fight. "Should we be helping them? I feel like we should be helping them," Drago asked awkwardly as they all just stood on the side and watched the battle before them in awe. Blasts of fire, crystal shards and sonic screams all shot across the room towards each other in an epic chaos. They were no stranger to seeing Lang Yan fight another Demon Sorcerer, but her and Hsian Ji? Three Demon Sorcerers duking it out? It was truly a rare sight. Lang Yan expertly avoided and dodged Shen Du's fire like a graceful acrobat, throwing crystal shards at him with each jump and flip while her crystal wheels swerved around and struck him from behind. Each time Shen Du focused on Lang Yan, Hsian Ji appeared out of nowhere in blinding speed, slicing him with several tiny cuts with her wing nails.

"If anyone needs help, it's gonna be your old man. He's getting his butt whooped hard," Mavis commented. "Linos, how come you never mentioned how amazing your mom is?"

"I believe all I've ever talked about was how amazing my mother is," Linos replied with a smirk, proudly watching the Demon Siren herself battle once more.

"What about the keys? Did you guys have any luck with that?" Mala asked.

"No, those things are stuck in there good like the TV remote between the layers of fat on my great-aunt Moira," Mavis replied.

"Ok, fat aunts aside, there must be a way to get these keys out!" Linos cried. He walked past his friends and reached his hands up, wrapping his fingers around the handle of one of the keys and began pulling. However, the key would not budge.

"Told ya," Mavis smirked.

"I've inspected the inscriptions on the door. The keys don't come out until the door is open and then shut again. Then, all the keys are automatically ejected," Tim explained.

"Until the door is open huh?" Drago muttered in deep thought. Everyone looked at him as he suddenly and loudly gasped. "I have an idea. It's crazy, but it might work."

"Crazy? I like the sound of this already!" Mavis beamed in excitement.

"What's your idea?" Remy asked.

"Ok, those keys won't budge until after the door is reopened and shut, right? I say, we do exactly what Shen Du wants. We open this door."

"What?" they all exclaimed in shock.

"Ok, I think all those direct blows to the head are finally taking their toll, dear," Mala said in worry.

"I'm serious. We open this door, but we don't do it to let someone out. We open that door to throw another prisoner in," Drago explained. "Even if we stop my father today or destroy his body, what's to stop him from just getting Daolon Wong or another Chi Wizard to bring him back and repeat this whole thing over again? This way, Shen Du's out of our hair for good."

"...We'll have to time it perfectly," Linos pointed out.

"Well, nobody said saving the world was easy," Mala smiled.

"Yeah, but we make it look like a piece of cake AND we look good doing it too!" Mavis added.

"It's your idea Drago. How do you propose we do this?" Tim asked.

"You guys still have the other keys?" he asked. Tim and Mavis nodded and pulled out the three keys in their possession.

"Still though, what is the difference between these two," she asked, holding up the Mountain and Sky keys, "and earth and wind?"

"Not important," Drago said, brushing her question aside. "Put those in the door and when Ren catches up with the Water Key, we'll get my father into position, open the door and push him in."

All of a sudden, they heard a canine yelp and turned just in time to see Lang Yan being thrown through one of the stone pillars along the perimeter of the room. "Mom!" Mala cried, rushing to her mother's side as she changed back from her wolf form. Before she could reach her mother, Mala was knocked aside and into her friends by Shen Du's tail as the dragon came up and pinned Lang Yan under his foot as had his hand around Hsian Ji's body and wings tightly.

"I suppose neither of you have ever been resurrected before, have you? Then you don't know that after having your physical vessel reconstructed, there is a brief period of time where you just aren't at your full strength yet. You may be two of the most powerful of our kind, but right now, neither of you are capable of fighting at full strength! Like an insect casting off it's exoskeleton as it molts, both of you two are vulnerable weaklings that I will squash," he boasted proudly.

Linos stepped forward and angrily shouted, unleashing a sonic scream aimed right for the back of Shen Du's head. It wasn't nearly as strong as Hsian Ji's was, but the force of it was enough to make Shen Du notice. He turned, narrowed his eyes angrily and quickly fired a heat blast from his eyes, striking Linos right on the shoulder. The young bat demon cried out in pain and fell back, grasping his smoking shoulder with his other hand. An Gou reacted immediately, unleashing black flames at Shen Du, who countered with his own before easily swiping the demon hound against the wall. With no other interruptions, he returned his attention to the two Demon Sorceresses now at his mercy.

"Father!" a voice shouted before Shen Du could finish the wolf and bat off. He turned towards the main entrance of the chamber and smirked at the sight of his son with the last key in hand.

"The Water Key!" Drago exclaimed.

"Wait, but where's Ren?" Remy asked. As Dragen slowly entered the chamber, Remy quickly noticed the dark red liquid that dripped down his fingertips. "You… you killed her!" he shouted, charging forward in a rage, but he was held back by Tim and Mavis.

"It's about time! Hurry up and make yourself useful!" Shen Du shouted, not even fully turning around to face his son.

Dragen didn't respond to this right away, but his nose twitched slightly, as if he were ready to attack like a wild best in rage. "Is that all you have to say? Do this, do that, go here, get this? I've done everything for you and you can't even say 'thank you' or 'good job'?"

"Enough! Quit your pathetic grovelling and do as you are told!"

"No! For once, I'm going to speak my mind and you are going to shut your overgrown mouth and listen!" Dragen suddenly snapped, his angry shouts echoing across the entire room.

Perhaps intrigued or annoyed at his son's sudden defiant outburst, Shen Du dropped Hsian Ji to the ground and removed his foot from on top of Lang Yan. "You will think wisely over your next words, son."

"So you have nothing good to say to me? After everything I've done for you? I killed that slayer for you!"

"Feh, what do you want? A medal? Why do you insist on groveling for my attention like some pathetic child?"

"Well, maybe if you actually acted like you gave a damn about me or any of your kids for that matter, I wouldn't be so needy. You're my father, dammit! You're supposed to act like a father!"

"I don't have to act like anything! If I happen to father weakling sons, then I cease to have a use for them," Shen Du scoffed.

"So that's it then. Your children, we're all just tools for you to ditch as soon as we stop being useful? I refuse to be the next in a line of children you leave in the gutter! You left Tiamat to die and Pythios got himself killed for you! I won't be the next!"

"Who are Tiamat and Pythios?" Drago asked.

Dragen quickly turned to look at his brother in shock before looking back at his father. "He really doesn't know, does he? Heh, of course he doesn't know! He didn't even know about me! How I wish I could have switched places with him and lived a life of blissful ignorance. But then that would still just be another life for you to ruin, wouldn't it?" Dragen said to Shen Du before turning to Drago. "Tiamat and Pythios are our older sister and brother. We're not the only children that this bastard has been using as his personal servants and brainwashing to worship him," he explained before turning his attention back to Shen Du. "Tiamat dedicated herself to spreading your influence and honoring your legacy. She saved your life, but you abandoned her instead of saving her because in your eyes, she outlived her usefulness. And Pythios? He ate up your bullshit and got himself killed trying to please you. Being the child of Shen Du is a dangerous occupation. Why do you think I left?"

"And here I always thought it was because you were a coward. You didn't have Pythios' dedication or Tiamat's power! You were always the little runt out of the three."

"I left because I wasn't about to let you ruin my life! Maybe somewhere in all these centuries that we've been apart, I forgot why I split in the first place. Maybe I joined up with you because some stupid, ignorant part of me thought that maybe you'd changed and that maybe this time would be different. But it's not; at the end of the day, I'm just another tool that you'll throw away when I stop being useful. Somebody reminded me of something very important. As much as I hate to admit it, you were right when you said that I don't have Drago's passion and drive. But there is one thing I do want."

"And what is that, son?" Shen Du asked, intrigued.

"A life where I am rid of you!" With that, Dragen thrust his hand forward as a jetstream of water emerged from the Water Key, striking Shen Du right in the face. A bright orange glow began emanating from Shen Du's face as the water suddenly erupted in a cloud of steam.

"Then I will make sure you suffer the same fate as the rest of my failure children!" Shen Du shouted, preparing to breathe fire onto Dragen, who braced himself for the attack. Instead, before Shen Du could even let out a tiny ember, Drago dashed up and punched his father right in the jaw. He quickly dashed away and leapt off the wall to avoid Shen Du's counterattack, and landed right next to a very surprised Dragen.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Family sticks together, Dragen. I knew you'd come around," Drago smiled.

"Whatever, just don't expect me to start acting chummy!" the elder dragon insisted proudly.

"Sure, sure. Here," Drago chuckled, tossing Dragen his green-bladed saber.

Dragen caught the blade and looked at with wide eyes in shock and awe. "But this is… how did you?"

"I had Mavis fix it up, just in case. You fight with it better than any of us and we had a group decision a long time ago to not let Mavis have anymore weapons. So, what do you say, brother?"

Dragen closed his eyes and smiled. "Hmph, all right. Just this once, kid, just this once" he said, tucking the Water Key into his belt. He readied his sword as Drago readied his gauntlets before the pair charged towards their father. Shen Du widened his stance, but he was unprepared for the sheer force of their coordinated strike. They were much smaller than he, yes, but they had speed on their side. And Shen Du could not hit what he could not catch. Dragen and Drago, two brothers more alike than they initially cared to admit, flawlessly jumped and dashed to expertly avoid their father's attacks while launching their own. With each strike he endured and each attack he failed to connect, Shen Du grew more and more frustrated. This anger reached its peak as Shen Du roared out and waved his hand, creating a wide, horizontal slice of flames, knocking both of his sons into the wall in one move. "We can't do this forever!" Dragen shouted as Shen Du advanced.

Drago was about to respond, but quickly noticed his friends taking position on either side of the sealed door while Linos and his mother stood on the opposite end of the chamber facing them. "We don't have to; we just have to get him in front of the door!"

"What? Why?"

"Trust me!" Drago shouted, running up to Shen Du as Dragen followed. Both dragons jumped up and propelled themselves forward with a burst of flames. Together, they punched their father square in the jaw with enough force to push him onto his back and in front of the door. Drago and Dragen landed on the opposite end of the room and rolled to a stop. "They key, now!" Drago cried.

Dragen quickly reached for the key on his belt and threw it towards the door. The key landed in the final slot with perfect accuracy and magically turned, causing markings on the door and the keyholes to suddenly light up. The earth all around them began shaking as Shen Du turned to the door. Though shocked at first, his scaly lips formed a grin as the doors suddenly, but slowly opened. Inside the vault, all that could be see were two pairs of bright red eyes, narrowed viciously like a beast ready to strike. Shen Du turned back around, ready to announce the Demon King's return, only to be on the receiving end of Hsian Ji and Linos' sonic scream. The force of their combined screams managed to knock him back, but he tightly gripped the frame of the door to keep himself from falling in as the Demon King behind him tried to emerge.

"It's not working!" Dragen shouted as he and Drago regrouped behind the two sound demons.

"They're giving it everything they've got!" Drago replied. Dragen looked down to the end of the room, where Shen Du desperately held on. The force of the sonic scream was strong enough to push him in all the way, but Shen Du's vice grip on the door frame kept him in place. If the scream stopped for even a second, Shen Du could recover, or worse, Mo Wang could escape. Without wasting another second on the thought, Dragen dashed forward, allowing the force of the sonic screams to propel him forward. "What are you doing?" Drago shouted, following after him as the force of the screams carried him forward as well. As Dragen neared Shen Du, he drew his fist back and punched his father right on the cheek. The blow stunned him, causing him to lose grip on the door frame and begin falling back into the vault. Before Dragen could fall in as well, Drago quickly grabbed his arm and formed a spear hook on his gauntlet, firing it into the opposite wall as a solid flame cable straightened out, holding the two dragons safely out of the vault while the force of the scream continued to endanger them. "Now!" Drago shouted. On his cue, the others, all stationed by either door, began pushing with all their might to seal the vault.

"Ah!" Drago quickly looked down when he heard his brother cry out and saw Shen Du reaching out from the vault and grabbing onto Dragen's entire lower body with his hand. Drago felt like his arms were being pulled off his torso as he desperately tried to keep a tight grip on his brother's arm.

"Wait, stop!" Drago shouted, causing his friends to stop pushing on the doors.

"If I'm going down, I'll take both of you brats with me!" Shen Du shrieked maniacally.

"Just let me go, kid. We both don't have go down for this," Dragen said. For the first time since they met, Dragen actually looked and sounded sincere.

"No!" Drago protested, tightening his grip to showcase his resolve. "I'm not letting you go!" He looked up in horror when he felt the cable keeping them out of the vault begin to falter. The spear head that he had shot into the wall had begun slipping out. Drago then looked down to his brother, who was preoccupied with throwing fire in their father's face. It would be so easy to just let him go. He could say that Dragen slipped right through his fingers. That was exactly something the old Drago would do: sacrifice an ally if it meant saving his own skin. But that wasn't who he was anymore. Drago struggled to figure out how to get out of this mess when all of a sudden, an arrow whizzed right by him at incredible speed. Drago quickly looked up to the source of the arrow and spotted a familiar red-haired archer before looking back over his shoulder to his father.

Shen Du roared loudly in pain as the arrow pierced his eye. "My eye! My eye!" he squealed. Out of instinct, he released his hold on Dragen and reached up to pull the arrow out of his eye. Unfortunately, that was enough to let the force of the sonic scream throw Shen Du into his father and push both of them deep into the vault.

"Put your backs into it!" Mavis shouted as everyone pushed the doors shut with all their might.

"Noooooooo!" Shen Du and Mo Wang cried in unison as the doors shut with a mighty _boom_! The markings on the door glowed one final time before dimming as the keys were ejected from the keyholes and fell to the ground. Their cries were cut off and Linos and Hsian Ji ceased their screams as the dragon brothers fell to the ground on their stomachs. Linos, in particular, fell forward onto his knees panting heavily.

"I don't… I don't think I've ever done one that long before," Linos panted as Mavis helped him up.

"Ren!" Remy shouted, running towards the chamber entrance where his cousin dropped her bow to the ground and slumped against the wall before sliding down to the ground, clutching her side.

"I'm fine," she insisted as Remy crouched next to her.

"Enough with the brave face!" Remy exclaimed, taking a hold of Ren's wrist and moving her arm out of the way so he could examine her wound. "What the?" he looked at her abdomen, puzzled when he saw no wound. There was evidence that she had been wounded, like the dried blood on her skin and blood on her jacket and pants, but the two puncture wounds looked like they had been fused shut. "How?" Remy turned to his right when he heard someone approach and saw Dragen. "You said…"

"Wouldn't be the first time I've lied about something," he replied simply before turning to Ren. "You saved my life," he said.

"Consider us even," she replied as Remy slowly helped her up. He pulled her left arm over his shoulder and wrapped his right arm around her waist, supporting her as they rejoined everyone by the pile of keys.

"So, what happens now?" Tim asked.

"Well, unless you plan on putting those keys back in that door, which I don't recommend, it stays shut with our old man and the Demon King inside," Dragen explained.

"Heh, fitting punishment if you ask me," Drago chuckled.

"But there's still a problem. Someone could manage to get all of these keys together again in the future!" Mala pointed out.

"Yes, an excellent point, my dear. But, I have a solution," Lang Yan said. She stepped forward and raised the keys of the ground with the wave of her hand. She carefully ran her fingertip over each dagger, slowly turning each one into solid crystal. "Songbird, sing a little tune for us, will you?" she asked.

"Certainly," Hsian Ji replied, unleashing a sonic scream directly at the keys. Everyone immediately covered their ears, despite not being in the scream's direct path. Slowly but surely, the crystallized keys shattered. From the shattered remains arose eight colorful wisps of energy. Seven of them shot out into the sky while the last shot towards the vault door and phased right through it.

"What the heck was that?" Mavis exclaimed.

"The keys are powerful artifacts, yes, but since they're magic was not designed to counter ours, we can destroy them. Lang Yan's crystallization weakened their structure and when I scream at a certain frequency, I can completely disintegrate an object entirely. No keys means no chance of Shen Du or Mo Wang escaping."

"The keys themselves are no more, but the powers they held cannot just disappear. They've simply gone to reunite with their original source: the Demon Sorcerers they were originally siphoned from," Lang Yan explained.

"Well then if it was that easy to destroy the keys, why didn't Mala and Linos just do that?" Remy asked.

"Magic must defeat magic," Lang Yan said. "You two are undoubtedly powerful for your age, but you both have yet to reach the level of a fully powered Demon Sorcerer-oh!" Lang Yan was cut off when Mala suddenly stepped forward and embraced her mother tightly.

"I'm just so happy you're back!" Mala mumbled. Lang Yan was a bit taken aback by the sudden action, but smiled and wrapped her arms around her daughter and returned the hug as she lightly pat Mala's head. As this went one, Linos turned to his mother. For the first time that day, he finally got to get a real look at her. Before they were too preoccupied with fighting Shen Du, but now that he was gone for good and the crisis was over…

"Mom!" he cried, leaping into his mother's arm and crying into her shoulder like a sobbing child. Hsian Ji smiled and wrapped her large wings around her son, a familiar and warm feeling he fondly remembered from his childhood. "I'm so sorry!" he cried into her shoulder.

"Ssshhh," Hsian Ji hushed her son, lovingly stroking his hair with the horn on her wing. "You have nothing to be sorry for. I don't regret what happened for a moment," she said, lifting her son's tear-stained face from her shoulder and kissing him on the forehead. "I'm so proud of you."

"Awwww, what a perfect way to end everything," Mavis smiled as she watched her two friends reuniting with their mothers.

* * *

As the sun set on another day in Los Angeles, a tall, broad shouldered young man with long, pale blonde hair - head shaved on one side - and dark red eyes stood on the rooftop of a building. From the stairwell leading down to the interior emerged a young man of similar, but slightly smaller build with short black hair and matching eyes.

"It's a good look for you," Drago commented, "Though I never pegged you for a blonde."

"This form is awfully strange to me, but I think I could get used to it," the blonde replied. "My balance is a little thrown off without my tail, though."

"Haha, you'll get used to it. So, now that this is all over, what are you gonna do?"

"Honestly, I don't know. All my life I was raised to do one thing: serve our father. And now that he's finally out of my life forever, I don't know what to do."

"You could stay here?" Drago suggested.

"Heh, and live with my baby brother and his friends?" Dragen chuckled, messing up Drago's hair with a playful smirk. "Pass. This place is your scene and I don't think you friends and your girl will be happy with someone who tried to kill them on a regular basis hanging out with them."

"Actually, before Remy became our friend, he tried to kill us. Almost killed me too. That's how I got this scar," Drago said, pulling back his shirt to show Dragen the scar on his shoulder.

Dragen whistled in impression. "Well, no offense, but I'd just feel like I'm tagging on to the life you've built. I need to build one of my own."

"I understand," Drago smiled, fixing his hair. "It's ok if you don't know what you want. I spent a long time working for something I thought I wanted but when somebody finally pulled my head out of my ass, I realized what I really wanted. Maybe that was the problem. You spent all those centuries in this world on your own. Sometimes it takes being with other people to figure out what you really want."

"Hm, what I really want, huh?" Dragen said. He looked over the edge of the roof to the street below where Remy was bidding Ren farewell. The redhead briefly looked up at Dragen on the roof before putting on her helmet and waving goodbye to her cousin and zooming down the street on her motorcycle. Dragen turned and watched her disappear down the street. "You know, for someone so young, you're pretty smart."

"Well, I've been through a lot. So, am I ever going to see you again?" Drago asked curiously.

"Dunno," he answered honestly. "But I can guarantee that the next time we do see each other, we won't be enemies." Drago smiled at this and extended his hand, which Dragen took. The brothers shook hands and smiled at each other.

"Just one question before you go," Drago started. Dragen cocked his eyebrow as his brother continued. "Tiamat and Pythios… what were they like?"

"Pythios was an ass. Stubborn and cocky! I swear, you couldn't tell him anything! He was a good guy, but never thought things through and was a bit too much of a show off. But Tiamat, she was a strong demon and fighter and a good sister. I think she would have liked you." Drago smiled at his brother's words. "I'd say 'take care of yourself', but you're doing a pretty good job of that already."

"Thanks," Drago smiled.

"Later, kid," Dragen turned to leave and casually waved over his shoulder as he leapt over the edge of the roof and landed on the street flawlessly. He strolled down the street in the same direction Ren had rode down, towards the sunset and a brighter tomorrow.

* * *

 **Man, that was a long chapter. Were the fights long enough? I feel like they weren't long enough... Anyway, is it just me or does Shen Du feel like the kind of guy who would have lots of kids that he gives zero fucks about?**

 **Next chapter (that's right, this ain't the last!): The Strikers enjoy some well earned peace and quiet, but a situation at school threatens to expose Liam, Mala and Drago as demons!**


	16. Downtime

**Well, happy new year everyone! And what better way to ring in the new year with a new chapter! Had a bit of writer's block after the last chapter plus I got super distracted celebrating the holidays with D-Sniper, who flew all the way up here :)**

* * *

"Finally!" Tim sighed, plopping into an open seat in the cafeteria. "Everything's back to normal! We can finally finish the school year without a demon attack or magical mishap."

"Careful, Tim, you start talking like that and you'll jinx it!" Liam laughed.

"Please don't jinx it," Mala begged.

"Don't listen to her. Jinx it!" Mavis exclaimed excitedly.

"So, how's your mom adjusting to having a body again?" Drago asked, changing the topic.

"Well, she's still getting used to hands and fingers. She doesn't exactly have those in her demon form. She spent a good fifteen minutes just picking things up and putting them back down," Liam chuckled.

"Don't forget when she pushed all the buttons in the elevator!" Mavis added.

"That's actually really adorable," Mala giggled. "But it's a good thing my mom's helping her out too."

"Yeah, Lang Yan's actually lived among humans before so it's nice of her to show my mom the ropes."

"So, what do they, like do?" Mavis asked.

"What do you mean?" Mala asked.

"Well, ok, they're demons yeah, but now that they're living among humans, are they gonna like work or something?" Mavis elaborated.

"Well, my mom makes some quick cash the same way I do. Making gemstones is easy for people like us!" Mala answered.

"I wish I had magic that I could take financial advantage of," Mavis pouted.

"Well, you and your mom are lucky. No one's going to raise an eyebrow at someone making and selling jewelry. But me and Liam? How exactly can you monetize on fire and shadows?" Drago pointed out.

"Haha good point. But anyway, I overheard our moms talking and it sounds to me like my mom wants to go into the singing business."

"She wants to be a singer?" Remy asked.

"Hm, make sense: Sound Demon Chi, a musical career, that is one way to monetize on your powers," Tim noted.

"Yeah, and apparently Lang Yan's going to be her agent. So it'll be interesting to see how that goes." Liam took in a deep breath and sighed happily. "It's good to have her back."

"Yeah, it is," Mala smiled.

"So, you hear from your brother at all?" Tim asked Drago.

"Not yet, but since the news has been pretty quiet, he probably isn't causing any trouble."

"Well, Ren said that she's been noticing something following her these past few weeks," Remy said.

"Aww, I think our little Dragen has a bit of a crush," Mala giggled.

"Who wouldn't? Ren's hot!" Mavis exclaimed, making a sizzle sound with her mouth followed by a sassy cat meow.

Once lunch period was over, all the students gathered in the gymnasium and sat on the bleachers for what was apparently a special guest presentation. The auditorium was filled with the sounds of students chatting as multiple conversations overlayed each other. "So, what's this guest speaker we're supposed to be having?" Mala asked.

"I heard it was a motivational speaker," Tim added.

"Motivational speaker? Uh, we saved the world like four times now! We should be the ones doing the motivational speaking," Mavis scoffed.

They watched as a group of five men entered the gymnasium, rolling large containers into the room and moving to the center of the gym floor in front of the bleachers. "I wonder what's in there," Remy commented.

"Maybe props?" Mala suggested.

"Oh god, I hope it's not costumes," Mavis groaned. "Oh god, they're probably going to sing! Liam, quick get us out of here!" she cried, grabbing the collar of Liam's vest and shaking him.

One of the teachers finished setting up a microphone and handed it to one of the guests, who began speaking. "Ahem," he cleared his throat, prompting the students to finish their conversations and pay attention. "Good afternoon, everyone! We've got a special presentation for you all today! I hope you're as excited as we are!" he announced. The students didn't really cheer since they had no idea what the presentation was even about, but they all lightly applauded out of obligation. "Now, I did some research about your school before me and my friends came here and we found some pretty interesting things on social media. Monster attacks. Now, that's not normally something the rest of the world would believe, but apparently, your school has been the target of at least two monster attacks. Me and my friends here, we specialize in fighting monsters. Now, I know what some of you are thinking: 'Monsters aren't real! What are you people crazy?'" he laughed. "As a matter of fact, monsters and demons are very, very real," he said sinisterly.

"Uh oh," Remy muttered.

"'Uh oh' What 'uh oh'?" Mavis asked, quickly focusing on Remy.

"Um… so remember back when we first met last year?" he asked with a nervous laugh.

"When you were trying to kill us?" Mala asked.

"How could we forget?" Drago added, remembering the scar on his shoulder and chest.

"But go on," Liam said.

"Well - and this was before I changed and we became friends - I started thinking that I might not be able to take you three out on my own so I sorta called for help."

"Remy, what did you do?" Mala asked.

"Ok, ok, here's how it works. The Ryders aren't the only demon hunter clan out there, we're just the best one. Back then, I put a message out requesting help and I might have forgotten to take it down?" he squeaked, drawing up his shoulders nervously.

"Uh oh," Tim reiterated.

"Yeah…"

"Wait, if you put that message a year ago, why are they only responding now?" Mala asked.

"Lots of reasons: travel times, being busy with other missions. It was a last ditch effort! Other hunters don't usually respond to those kinds of calls for help right away," Remy answered.

"Ok, so we've got five demon hunters and a gymnasium full of classmates and witnesses. How are we going to handle this?" Mavis asked.

"What do you know about them, Remy?" Liam asked.

Remy leaned forward to get a better look at the crest on the crates the hunters had rolled in. He quickly recognized the blue skull insignia. "Well, they're definitely small fry compared to the Ryder Clan. And you certainly don't have to worry about them bleeding on you. They're not like me."

"Then what's their deal? They're definitely packing a lot of firepower on those crates," Liam said, using his True Sight to sneak a peek inside their crates.

"Where the Ryders use swords and magic, these guys only follow one principle: shoot it until it's dead and ask questions later. They're reckless, stubborn and impossible to work with. Part of the reason people stopped hiring them was because they cause more collateral damage than the price of the job!"

"So what should we do?" Drago asked.

"Let me try and take care of it. If a fight breaks out, everyone here could become collateral damage and we can't risk the three of you being exposed," Remy cautioned as the man continued his speech.

"But make no mistake, demons are very real. I'm sure many of you saw the creatures that attacked your school. No, it wasn't a movie prop and yes, it was very real. You see, demons are all around us, hiding among us just waiting for the moment to strike! But people like me and my friends here, we're demon hunters. We find these demons before they can attack and we destroy them, protecting you and your friends and family." One of the teachers came over, trying to take the mic from him, but the man easily shoved him to the ground. "But no matter how many demons we slay, there is always evil lurking in the shadows! In fact, I'm certain there are demons among us even now!" As he said that, all the students began looking around at each other. "Oh yes, try and look around all you want, but the thing about demons is they can assume our form. They can look as ordinary as anyone else. Which is why we're here. Since we're professionals, we'll take care of these demons and be on our way," he said, brandishing a pistol in his free hand. The students and teachers immediately panicked, but they were silenced when the man fired a warning shot into the ceiling as the rest of his men opened the crates and pulled out their own firearms.

"That's enough!" Remy shouted, standing up. The others were about to stand up with him, but he held his hand out to stop them. "Let me handle this," he whispered. "There are no demons here. Your services aren't necessary," Remy said as he came down the bleachers. He could feel the eyes of everyone in the gymnasium on him as they watched what was about to unfold.

"Hehe, we'll be the judge of that," the leader snickered. "Wait, I know that symbol," he said, noticing the emblem on Remy's shirt. "You're a Ryder! Well, then you can help us get rid of the demons here!"

"I'm afraid that won't be happening. This is my school and there are no demons here. You should leave before someone calls the police," he warned.

But the man simply laughed in his face, joined by the rest of his group." No demons? That's not what your distress message said!"

"I put that up over a year ago! I've taken care of it now. I just… forgot to take it down!" Remy shouted.

"Well, we're here now, kid, so the best we can do is make sure this school is demon-free."

"I've been attending this school for a year now. Do you honestly think that there'd be a demon here that I don't know about?"

"Look kid, no offense, but we're professionals. You're just a little kid. What are you, thirteen, fourteen?" the leader asked, placing his hand on Remy's shoulder, which he quickly slapped away.

"Nineteen," Remy corrected firmly. "I may be younger than you, but I've been doing this a lot longer than you have. I've fought Sorcerer level demons and took down a Commander class by myself. From what I hear, your group has only ever dealt with Minion and Scout class demons," Remy smirked. "So I'll say again, leave!"

"Heh, and what if we say no?" he asked.

"Then I'll make you leave!" Remy shouted, pulling out his collapsible jian from behind his back.

"Mr. Ryder, students are not allowed to bring weapons to school! It is a direct violation of our code of conduct!" one of the teachers scolded.

Remy turned to address the teacher with a blank face. "Really? Do you really want to get into that right now?" The teacher looked back at the men with guns that had invaded their school and quickly shook her head.

"Haha, you really wanna fight us?" he asked.

"If it's the only way you'll leave, yes," Remy replied.

"All right then," the leader said, intrigued. He waved to his men to stand down as he holstered his gun and pulled out a large machete. With a mighty battle cry, the intruder charged forward to attack with this blade. Remy held up his sword to block the attack and just barely managed to hold his ground. Though Remy was able to guard against each attack, his opponent was older, larger and much stronger. Remy was eventually pushed up against the wall, but quickly leapt to the side to avoid another swing of the machete. As he turned around, Remy threw one of his sun blades towards the other hunter, but he easily caught it in his hands. In response, the hunter fired a small metal claw from his wrist gauntlet. Remy quickly brought his sword up, causing the claw to wrap around it. The hunter smirked and pulled on the cable attached to the claw, pulling the sword out from Remy's hands. "What are you gonna do now? Judging from your civilian getup, I doubt you're carrying a lot of equipment right now," the hunter said confidently.

Remy stood up straight and cracked a smile. He thrust his right hand to the side and opened his palm. "Wanna bet? Starshatter!" At his call, the navy blue blade appeared in Remy's hand in a flash of blue light, shocking the hunter.

"What the?" he cried as his fellow hunters whispered to each other in amazement.

"If you think that's impressive," Remy smirked. He quickly slashed the empty space in front of him as a row of glowing blue stars appeared and burst forward, striking Remy's opponent mercilessly in the shoulders and chest, knocking him to the ground on his back. Remy's head turned to the right instinctively when he heard the _click_ of a gun. As the other hunters raised their firearms, Remy quickly drew a star pattern, creating a shield that absorbed the bullets. He advanced, keeping the shield in place as it continued to protect him as he rammed into two of the gunmen, knocking them to the ground and their guns out of their hands. Without missing a beat, Remy quickly stepped to the side and sliced through the rifle of another attacker. He made a move to attack the fourth when he suddenly felt something small strike him in the back, almost like an insect bite. His body suddenly went stiff as he felt an electric jolt go through his body. His sword fell out from his hand and landed on the floor while his body convulsed before collapsing on the floor in pain. The group's leader towered over Remy with a confident smile. With his foot, he lifted Remy by the shoulder to turn him over onto his back before slowly raising a gun to Remy's face.

"So much for all that training, and all it takes is a little taser to bring you down," he chuckled. "Demon slayer or not, you're in our way and I don't like it when children stand in my way. That's a fancy sword you got there, must have picked it off a demon you killed. I wonder if it'll transfer ownership if I off you." Before he could pull the trigger however, a black shadow tendril appeared out of nowhere and quickly wrapped around the barrel of the gun before whipping it right out of the leader's hand. "What the?" he cried in shock, as the shadow tendril wrapped firmly around his forearm and threw him across the gym floor. As his comrades helped him back on his feet, Liam walked out in front of the gym bleachers to Remy.

"L-Liam," Remy struggled to speak, "D-don't… Th-there's no g-going back if you do this."

"I know," he replied, ignoring his friend's warning as he helped Remy sit up. The rest of their friends quickly joined as Mavis and Tim kneeled behind Remy to support him.

"Are you sure about this?" Mala asked in a serious tone.

"There's only one way to deal with people like this and I'm not going to let Remy get himself killed just to keep our secrets," Liam replied.

"We're with you," Drago said with a firm nod.

Liam returned the nod and turned to face the five hunters. "You want a demon?" he shouted, closing his eyes and quickly opening them again, revealing pure red and glowing eyes, "I'll give you one!"

* * *

 **This was always something I wanted to do with the Strikers, where they secrets as demons are exposed so publicly and now we finally have a chance to do it! Even with the main storyline over, this is important and in the next chapter, you can expect something close to what many have been asking for since the beginning :)**

 **Next chapter: Linos, Mala and Drago reveal themselves as demons to fight the hunters and protect their classmates, but exposing themselves has consequences and draws attention from a certain organization.**


	17. New Recruits

**Took me a while to get back to finishing up this chapter, but we're nearly at the end!**

* * *

"You want a demon?" he shouted, closing his eyes and quickly opening them again, revealing pure red and glowing eyes, "I'll give you one!" Black shadows suddenly surrounded Liam while his bright red, glowing eyes remained wide and open through the darkness. Suddenly, from the shadows emerged two enormous wings as Linos tore through the remaining shadows, revealing his massive and menacing demon form. His classmates recoiled in fear and screams, but Linos kept his gaze on the demon hunters before him.

"No demons at this school, huh? Guess the Ryders have been getting cozy with the enemy," the leader said confidently.

"Well, I guess the cat's outta the bag now," Drago casually shrugged as he too transformed into his demon form in front of everyone.

"Two eh? We'll get a lot for that one's dragonhide, that's for sure," one of the hunters said, pointing at Drago with his rifle.

"Make that three," Mala added, transforming into her demon form in a brilliant and sudden flash of light.

"Three demons, huh? This is gonna be more fun than I thought," the leader grinned.

"Mavis, head for the exit and get everyone out of here. Drago and Mala, you and I will take care of these interlopers," Linos ordered.

"Interlopers?" Mavis asked, confused.

"Intruders," Linos clarified.

"Well, then why not just say 'intruders'? Seriously, who are you trying to impress?"

"Mavis, would you just… would you just evacuate, please?" Linos begged with a sigh of annoyance.

"Fine, fine, come on, Remy," Mavis said as she and Tim each took one of Remy's arms around their shoulders and made their way to the pair of doors next to the bleachers.

"Why is it that I'm always the one getting injured?" Remy asked.

"Hey! No one is going anywhere!" the leader shouted, raising his gun and firing a warning shot into the ceiling, shattering one of the lightbulbs above and causing the students to flinch and recoil in fear.

However, before the leader and his band could even react, Mala stomped her foot into the ground, causing a crystal wall to form immediately behind her, Linos and Drago, completely separated Mavis, Tim, Remy and the students and teachers from what would inevitably become a bullet riddled battlefield. "Opps, did I do that?" she asked with a smirk.

"I love it when you're feisty," Drago remarked.

"Grrr, get them!" the leader shouted. The hunters all raised their guns and opened fire on the demons. Linos and Drago scattered across the room to avoid the bullets while Mala protected herself with a crystal shield.

"Ok, you heard 'em. Everyone out!" Mavis shouted, but none of the students or teachers moved. "DID I STUTTER!" she shouted at the top of her lungs, prompting everyone to immediately descend the bleachers and pile through the door outside. "Hey, hey, single file people! I swear, these people just do not know how to be cool under pressure!"

"Well, they don't have the experience with fighting demons and bad guys like we do," Tim remarked.

"Fair point." Once everyone was through the doors, Mavis and Tim went through, still carrying Remy with them. Just as they set Remy down on a nearby bench to rest, Mavis felt a firm hand on her shoulder spin her around as she came face to face with one of the hunters.

"You're not going anywhere!" he shouted, quickly brandishing a pistol. But before he could aim his gun at her, a large German shepard with a spiked collar ran up and clamped its sharp teeth into the man's arm. He cried out in pain as he fell to the ground while the dog growled and shook its head with his arm still in its teeth. With his other hand, he reached behind him to pull out a knife and swipe at the dog, but it quickly released its hold on his arm, spun around and swatted the knife out of his hand with its tail, which was not covered in thick fur, but instead had a long curved blade on the end. The dog stood protectively in front of Mavis and the others as black shadows spread across its body, revealing a menacing six-legged, horned creature with bright red eyes.

"Yeah! Atta girl, An!" Mavis exclaimed.

Their attention, however, was diverted to the sound of approaching sirens. "Oh, thank goodness, the authorities!" one of the teachers sighed in relief. However, while they were expecting several standard police cars, what arrived instead were many ominous looking black vans. They quickly surrounded the entire school perimeter as men clad in black body armor with rifles emerged.

"Oh…" Mavis began.

"Fuck!" Tim suddenly cursed, causing both Mavis and Remy to snap their heads towards him. "What?" he asked.

"Nothing, I just… never thought I'd hear you swear like that. It's kinda weird," Mavis replied.

Their conversation was cut short as three armed soldiers appeared on front of them, aiming their guns at An, who snarled at them and stood in front of her friends protectively. "Stand down!" ordered a fourth soldier who entered the scene. "He's the one we want," he continued, gesturing to the hunter on the ground clutching his bleeding arm and squealing like a baby.

"Um… what is going on?" Mavis asked.

"You three remain here," said the fourth soldier, "Our boss wants to speak with you." The three of them merely exchanged confused looks at each other.

Inside, Mala shielded herself behind a crystal barrier, deflecting the bullets that two of the hunters were shooting at her. When they stopped to reload their guns, Mala lowered the barrier and waved her arm upward, sending a row of sharp crystals at both the hunters' feet before completely encasing them. Drago avoided the gunfire of one hunter, zigging and zagging his way closer. When he reached the hunter, Drago swatted the rifle aside and swiftly headbutted the hunter, knocking him onto his back unconscious. Drago stood over him and took the rifle in his hands, easily melting it between his palms.

"Come out, you monster!" shouted the leader as Linos' shadow swirled around him tauntingly.

"You might as well give up. Your men are down and you're outnumbered," Linos hissed.

"Not to mention outclassed!" Drago called. The leader swiftly turned around just in time to see both Mala and Drago as the latter tossed the unconscious hunter to the leader's feet. He stepped back in shock as the two demons stood confidently opposite to him, giving Linos the chance to come at him from behind. Linos' shadow appeared behind the leader's feet as the large bat demon rose out from it. Sensing something behind him, the hunter quickly turned around, but was quickly hoisted up into the air by the collar of his shirt by Linos. He raised his gun to point it at Linos, but Drago quickly seized from his hand with a solid flame whip.

"You wanna know something about us demons? Even the nice ones? We're very territorial," Linos whispered grimly, emphasizing each word as the hunter gulped and whimpered in fear.

* * *

"Talk to us about what?" Mavis asked the soldier.

Before he could respond, a high-pitched sonic shriek rang through the air, immediately prompting everyone to cover their ears. The gym wall suddenly burst open from the sheer force of Linos' sonic shriek. The lead hunter tumbled out onto the concrete roughly as the screaming ceased. When they emerged, the three demons quickly assumed combat ready stances once they noticed the armed soldiers.

"Don't move!" one soldier shouted as they surrounded the defeated hunter leader. Linos looked at both Mala and Drago, both of whom had their own confused looks as the soldiers moved directly past them and towards the three subdued hunters within. Linos quickly stiffened as one of the soldiers walked up to them.

"Relax, we just want to talk," he said. However, talking ended up taking longer to get to than they all expected.

"What do you think they're doing?" Mala asked as she nervously looked over to the series of black trucks and SWAT-like gunmen that surrounded the school's entrance. Several of them were talking to and tending to students and staff while the six of them had been quarantined off at the bleachers by the football field next to the gym.

"Probably taking statements, processing witnesses, routine procedures," Tim asked.

"And what about us?" Drago scoffed.

"Whatever they're planning to do with us, we'll handle it together. There's no way I'm letting them lock any of us up," Liam said, crossing his arms with a determined glare.

"And that is why you are the de-facto leader," Mavis said, pointing at him.

"What are we supposed to do now? The secret's out! You three have been exposed!" Remy exclaimed.

"Change our names? Move to another city and start this whole process over in a boring, repetitive segment that people will feel like they've already seen before only to be exposed yet again and begin this whole chaotic cycle anew?" Mavis suggested. Everyone looked at her with confused expressions, to which Mavis quickly added, "Just a suggestion."

"Well, so far they haven't tried to detain us, so I'm betting they want something more than to just lock us up. Because if they wanted to lock us up, they would have done it already. Why keep us waiting?" Liam asked. He spotted two soldiers talking just a few feet away from them and closed his eyes, listening in on their conversation with his powers.

"What's the boss wanna do with them?" one of them asked. "I thought we were gonna lock them up like we did with that big lizard."

"Nah, the Captain wants to talk to them," replied the other.

"What for? They're dangerous! You saw what they were capable of!"

"It doesn't matter what we want! Captain Black thinks they might make good recruits. Besides, you saw what they did to those guys and from what the students and teachers are saying, those bastards with the guns came in and attacked first."

Liam pulled away and turned back to his friends. "You guys know a 'Captain Black'?" he asked. Almost immediately Mala and Drago quickly looked at each other with wide eyes. "I'll take that as a 'yes'?"

"Oh, I can't believe this is happening again!" Mala wailed.

"Don't worry Mala, I won't let them take you," Drago said, wrapping his arm around her reassuringly.

"Well, what about you? By their standards, you're a wanted criminal!"

"Guys, guys, they're coming over!" Mavis cried, drawing everyone's attention to the bald man in a black trenchcoat accompanied by the two soldiers Liam had eavesdropped on.

"Miss Reid," he greeted, "a pleasure to see you again."

"Likewise," she muttered.

"Not sure if I can say the same thing about you, Drago," he said as Drago growled under his breath and glared at him angrily. "I'm sure you're wondering why I'm here."

"We have a few ideas," Mavis said.

"Well, regardless, my name is-"

"Captain Black," Liam interrupted him.

"Did Miss Reid and Drago tell you who I am or were you eavesdropping on my men?" Black asked.

"It's not hard when you have super hearing. What do you want with us?"

"Rest assured we're not here to detain you in any way," Black began.

"Oh sure, the whole battalion of armed men is very reassuring," Drago remarked.

"For those of you who don't know who I am, I am in charge of a secret government organization that deals with… paranormal events that occur. I'm sure Drago can elaborate on what kind of 'paranormal events' we deal with."

"Evil demons, spirits, force of magic, blah blah blah."

"Of which you were one," Black added.

"I've changed!" Drago barked.

"Anyway, my organization has been monitoring your events for the past year with great interest."

"You've been watching us?" Tim asked.

"Of course we have. You didn't think everything you've been up to just went unnoticed did you? The worldwide blizzard and ice pillars that disappeared as soon as it appeared, various demon sighting across the world, the entirety of Los Angeles being invaded by an army of demons? And all of those incidents traces back to you six."

"Hang on, if you've been watching us this whole time, why didn't you step in and do something about it all?" Mala asked.

"We were going to, at first. But when we saw that you were having moderate success and actually trying to stop all these evil demons, I thought it suitable to hold back and observe your progress further."

"Excuse me? Moderate success? Uh, we saved the world like four times now!" Mavis boasted.

"Which is why we've come here today. We'd like you to come and work for us."

"Wait… what?" they all exclaimed in unison.

"You want to recruit us?" Remy asked.

"Precisely. My superiors and I think that you'd be valuable assets to our mission to protect this world from any and all threats. You'd receive state of the art equipment and training and wouldn't have to worry about the stress of leading double lives."

"Give us a minute," Liam said. Black nodded as Liam turned to huddle with his friends. With the snap of his fingers, he formed an invisible barrier around them. "Sound-proof barrier. They can't hear anything we say."

"Are we actually considering this? Becoming government agents?" Mala asked.

"I am! I've always wanted to be a spy!" Mavis exclaimed with a wide grin.

"And we could accomplish a lot more if we did work with them," Tim added.

"But how do we know this isn't some kind of trick? Suppose we do work for Black for a while and in that time, he gets his team developing ways to neutralize us?" Drago pointed out.

"Well, it's not like we'll be teaching them how to kill demons, right? Consulting and recruitment are two separate things," Mala added.

"And even if I wanted to, I can't just share intimate secrets about the Ryder Clan with outsiders," Remy said.

"So, what? We just decline?" Mavis asked.

"Then what? Try and go back to some sense of a normal life? None of us have been living normal lives and even if we tried, we certainly can't do that here anymore. And what happens the next time a situation forces us to expose ourselves?" said Liam. "What then?"

Silence fell among the group as they each thought about the issue.

"At least, if we do join them, we'd have all the more opportunities to help more people. Don't get me wrong, we're doing fine with the way things are, but it's impossible for us to know every little magic-related instance that happens somewhere in the world," Tim pointed out. "And isn't that what this whole thing has been about?"

"So, we're actually thinking about doing this?" Liam asked, making sure that all his friends were aboard.

"Can't hurt to give it a try," Mavis added. "And if it doesn't work out we can always just return to our modest life as anonymous vigilantes, albeit being monitored by a secret government agency."

Liam dispelled the sound-proof barrier and turned to address Black, who awaited their answer. "We've reached a decision."

"And?" Black asked.

"First, what are your terms?"

"The five of you would become official Section 13 agents under my command. You would have the freedom to utilize your powers on missions however you wish, so long as they do not violate our policies or my orders at any time. You would receive a number of benefits, including the preservation of your civilian life and the assurance that you won't be targeted by any other government sanctioned organization."

"Hang on, the five of us? There's six of us," Tim said.

"That's correct, but we're only seeking to recruit five of you."

"Oh, I see how this is," Drago said, stepping forward. "It's me you don't want, isn't it?"

"You did try to take over the world by initiating a full demon invasion of San Francisco just over a year ago," Black pointed out.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa… whoa," Mavis walked up between the two. "You say you don't want Drago because of that thing he did before, right? But you also say that you've been watching our movements this whole time! Ergo, you've seen Drago risk his life to help humans AND save this world! I'm betting you missed the part where Drago kicked his old man into an eternal demon prison that can never be opened ever again?" Black remained silent as Mavis continued. "You gave us your terms, so I'll give you ours!"

"Um, Mavis," Liam said, hoping to take over the conversation.

"Silence! I got this," she whispered before turning back to Black. "Condition one: you accept Drago. He's more than made up for the wrongdoings he's committed in the eyes of the universe and if you want us, you have to take all of us! Or you can have none of us; up to you! Condition two!" Mavis continued, counting off with her fingers and not even giving Black a chance to cut in. "No Batman contingency plans!"

"What?" Everyone exclaimed in confusion.

"Ugh, am I the only one familiar with all this? Batman has contingency plans for how to subdue members of the Justice League should they ever turn evil or be compromised in any way! So, no contingency plans! If I so much as smell someone plotting or your science guys developing some tech to take out my buddies, then all bets are off! Condition three: we get to leave, disappear off the face of the earth whenever we want."

"You know that I can't agree to all those," Black said in a serious tone.

"Oh, I think you'll find a way. You seem like a resourceful man and something tells me that your superiors really want us to join your little organization. You wouldn't call us 'valuable assets' if they didn't. And otherwise, you wouldn't be going through so much trouble to convince us to join you in the first place."

"Mavis is a lot more perceptive than we give her credit for," Remy whispered to Tim.

"Indeed… Don't tell her that; it'll just go to her head," he whispered back.

"So, Captain Black, do we have a deal?" Mavis asked, extending her hand out to him.

Black turned away for a moment and pressed his index finger into the communicator in his ear. He muttered something that Mavis couldn't hear for a nearly a minute before turning back around. "You drive a hard bargain, Miss Callahan… We have a deal," he said, shaking her hand firmly. "From this day forward, the six of you," Black emphasized, causing Drago to crack a smile, "are now agents of Section 13."

* * *

 **No Chans, but I hope the appearance of Captain Black was enough to satisfy those of you who have just been begging for the canon characters to make an appearance. I know a lot of you were set on the Chans showing up, but in all honesty, we just didn't see it.**

 **Next chapter - Epilogue: Six months after Mo Wang's defeat, an assignment in London brings up painful memories for Renita.**


	18. Epilogue

**Well, I know I've probably said this tons of times before, but I seriously cannot believe that we have come this far with this story. Just... wow. And I want to thank all of you for supporting this story and sticking with us all this time.**

 **So please, enjoy this epilogue chapter as we bring arc 4 to a close.**

 **Oh and it's set six months after the defeat of Mo Wang.**

* * *

"So, is this how it normally goes?" a tan skinned, broad shouldered young man with dark red eyes and long, wild blonde hair shaved on one side asked. He sat in a cafe chair backwards, resting his forearms on the back of the chair as he leaned in towards the small table with two plates of food.

"More or less, but definitely with a lot less pyrotechnics," replied a young woman with equally wild and untamable bright orange hair. She closed her eyes as she casually sipped her tea, before looking at the blonde with deep blue eyes.

"Ah come on, can you blame me?" he exclaimed.

"Yes, in fact I can! I know you like showing off to me, but the fireworks were completely unnecessary!" she scolded as she set down her tea.

"Well, I disagree," he said, leaning back into his chair, only to realize that he had forgotten he was sitting in it backwards and fell out of his chair.

"Oh! You ok?" the girl asked, quickly standing up and leaning over the table to check on him.

"I'm fine, Red," he insisted, pushing himself back up and dusting himself off before turning the chair around and sitting in it properly.

"I told you not to sit in the chair like that," she nagged. "Just typical you trying to show off to me and trying to look cool again."

"I do not show off!" he argued.

"You followed me for weeks setting fires to old buildings just to get my attention!"

"Well, it worked, didn't it? Besides, I only set fire to old abandoned buildings that were just waiting to be torn down! No one got hurt, Red."

"You're impossible, Dragen," she sighed. "Be sure you finish everything on your plate."

"Ok, mom!" he groaned before finishing off the sandwich on his plate.

"Well, when you start paying for your own meals, you can leave as much as you want on the plate."

"So when's the next job?"

"Don't know. Usually how it works is requests all come in through Ryder HQ back in China. Any agents that are already there will take up any request that comes through of their own choice. Once that's done, we head back to HQ for rest, restocking and our next assignment. Sometimes, though, if a request comes in and a Ryder agent is already in the area on their way to or back from another job, it'll be forwarded to them."

"So, now we head back to China?" Dragen asked.

"Yup. But if we get another assignment on the way, we'll take a detour."

"So, do I get to see the Ryder HQ this time?" he asked.

"Sorry, D, but rules are rules and I can't risk bringing an outsider, much less a demon outsider into the center of all Ryder operations. It's not that I don't trust you, it's just that everyone else will probably try to kill you on sight," she smirked. Just then, her phone began to beep. She pulled it out and examined the quick message displayed on the phone. "Oh, hang on," she said, pressing a button on her phone and putting it to her ear. "Renita here, uh huh. Did you send me the dossier? Give me a sec," she said, reaching into her bag and pulling out her laptop. "Ok, yeah I see it. There's no client name though, just a location. All right, fair enough. We'll check it out. Hang on a sec, this note at the bottom, is that accurate? And you're absolutely sure? ...Ok, I'll check it out." She hung up her phone and began reading through the dossier on her laptop.

"What is it?"

"Another assignment, right here in foggy old London too," she replied.

"You said there wasn't a client name?" he asked.

Ren nodded. "It's not uncommon for clients to want to keep their real names confidential. Sometimes we'll get aliases, but it's not exactly hard for us to figure out who they are when they give us their exact address and contact information. It's nearby too. Let's go." Ren quickly packed up her things as she and Dragen made their way to her black and blue motorcycle. Both put their helmets on and climbed on, with Ren in the front and Dragen sitting behind her, wrapping his thick arms around her slender waist. They zoomed down the busy streets for a few blocks before stopping at a red light. Ren looked up at the street name and gasped lightly when she recognized it. She quickly darted her head towards the building to her right. It was a plain, rectangular shaped building with the words "Senior Center" placed above the door. But it wasn't always a senior center…

* * *

It was a cold, rainy day many years ago, as a little girl sat inside what was then an orphanage. The girl had shoulder length orange hair tied neatly in a half ponytail that was also braided. She was wearing a plain, white dress and an old sweater to keep her warm as she sat near the window by the front door. Every day it was the same for her. From the moment she woke up, she would come right downstairs to this window and just sit there, staring outside, as if waiting for something or someone to arrive.

One of the adult caretakers came up to her from behind and placed a hand on the girl's shoulder gently, but the child barely registered it since she was so focused on the window. "Sweetie, it's getting late. You should go to bed," she said tenderly.

"Just a few more minutes," the little girl pleaded, not even tearing her sight away from the window for a second.

The woman sighed, "All right," knowing that there was no point in arguing with her before walking away to attend to the other children.

Every day she waited and waited, but nothing came. The other children were quick to pick on her for this, that unlike her, their parents had died, whereas hers didn't want her anymore. At first, she was quick to argue and insisted that her parents would be back for her as she planted herself by the window every hour of every day to wait for them, not even leaving for meals or to go to the bathroom in fear that she would miss them when they finally came. But weeks turned into months and soon enough, a whole year had passed. The children still teased her, but she wouldn't cry, she wouldn't let it show that she was starting to believe them when they said her parents were never coming back for her.

Was it something she did? Did she do something wrong? If she had done something wrong, why didn't they just tell her? Her mind swirled with all this doubt and sadness, and soon enough, anger. The caretakers left her alone, knowing that nothing they said or did could help or make her feel better. After all, what could they possibly say to a child whose parents abandoned her?

Eventually, more than a year later, she finally became open to the idea of being adopted. She had resisted at first, still clinging to the belief that her parents would return for her, but the realization that she had been abandoned made her numb. Some optimistic parents were keen and certain that they could get her to open up and that together they'd be a family, but every couple that took her home ended up bringing her back. It wasn't the usual reason like the child being too much to handle or not getting along with other children in the house.

This little girl was special, but she was special in a way that no one around her could possibly understand it. Everywhere she went, she could see them, she could sense them: spirits, demons, magical beings that no one else could see or hear like her. The first time she brought it up, the other children made fun of her, called her the "Ghost Girl". Their teasing was especially cruel, but she had learned her lesson. She wouldn't bring it up again.

Could that have been the reason they left her? She remembered waking up in the middle of the night and crawling into bed with her parents, telling them she saw a ghost. At first, they simply thought she had a nightmare. But as it happened more and more, her parents began to realize something was very wrong with their little girl. The spirits she sensed soon noticed her as well, so startled that she could see them that they'd end up shattering windows or knocking over furniture. When her parents asked why she destroyed so much of the house, she told them that a ghost did it. Of course, they didn't believe her. They thought her belief in "ghosts" was just a phase, like with all children, but they were wrong. They truly believed that their daughter was sick, crazy even! They took her to all kinds of specialists to diagnose her problem, but no one could give them an answer. And when they finally couldn't put up with it any longer, they drove to an orphanage and left her outside, telling her to wait there for them to come and get her. And she believed them. It was only now, three years since, that she realized how utterly naive and stupid she was to believe them.

How many families had thought about adopting her only to bring her back? She had lost count, but the number had to at least be near the twenties. Every time, she had gotten so hopeful, but the constant rejection was too much for her to bear and she completely shut herself down. Maybe something really was wrong with her. That had to be why nobody wanted to adopt her! It was her fault, all her fault! She drove her parents away! Everything would always be her fault!

"What are we going to do? The city is closing the orphanage down and she's the only child left who hasn't been adopted!" one of the caretakers whispered, but she could still hear them with her door open a tiny crack.

"How should I know? Nearly ten couples have tried to adopt her, but they keep bringing her back. Nobody wants that little monster!" She gasped and quickly, but quietly, shut the door to her room and locked it before crawling onto her bed and hugging her pillow tightly, crying herself to sleep.

A few days later, she sat in the common room of the orphanage, reading one of the few books on the bookshelves that was left. She could tell the two caretakers were in the other room discussing what to do with her, but at that point, she just didn't care anymore what happened to her. Just then, she heard the bell on the front door open, signalling that someone had come in. Usually, such a bell would be followed by a stampede of children, eager to be adopted, but there were no more children left, only her. So, she ignored the bell and continued reading, but carefully listened in on the conversation in the next room.

"Hello, my name is Raymond and this is my wife Rita. We're looking to adopt a child," said a man.

"Oh, I'm sorry, but I'm afraid all the children have already been adopted. The city is closing the orphanage down," one of the caretakers replied.

"All of the children? Are you certain there isn't just one more child here?" a woman asked.

"W-well, th-there is just one child left," the other caretaker started hesitantly and nervously, before quickly adding, "but you don't want her! She's… odd."

"I think we'll be the judge of whether or not we want her," said the man. She heard footsteps coming towards her as a man with black hair and green eyes entered the room. She didn't even look up from her book when he came in and sat down on the couch across from her. "Hello there, my name's Raymond Ryder. What's yours?" he asked, but she didn't answer and kept her eyes on the books. "Ah, not much of a talker, hm? That's ok. You only need to listen to what I have to say. My wife and I have been searching for you for a very long time." At that moment, her eyes quickly shot up to look at him, but she quickly returned them to her book. Raymond chuckled at this, but kept speaking. "As I understand it, you're a very special little girl. I heard the caretakers call you odd, but I don't think that's the whole story. Tell me, have you ever seen something that no one else could see?"

She instinctively drew the book up closer to her face to hide her face from his gaze. "Yes," she answered, the book muffling her voice slightly.

"And sometimes, you can sense these things that you see before you even see them, am I right?"

At that moment, she slowly lowered the book and peeked just over the top of it to look at him. "H-how do you know that?" she asked meekly.

Raymond smiled, before changing the topic suddenly. "You like stories? How about I tell you a story? Would you like that?" he asked, holding out his hand to take the book she was hiding behind. Slowly, but surely, she closed the book and handed it to him, which he then set on the table between them. "Long ago, when the world was still young, there were demons. Many of these demons were evil and terrifying and they could all use extraordinary magic. They used their powers to enslave humans and take over the world. For centuries, humans lived as slaves beneath their demon masters, until they discovered magic themselves: Chi Wizardry. That wasn't all though. A small band of warriors arose, a band of demon slayers," Raymond took out a piece of paper and pen and began drawing a symbol as he continued. "They were called the Laida Clan and for centuries, they hunted down and exterminated demons and evil spirits that tormented humankind. Although, nowadays, people don't believe in demons or spirits. But just because they can't see something, doesn't mean it doesn't exist, right?" he asked with a smile as he showed her the drawing of a horizontal crescent moon with two circles above it, the top circle being slightly smaller.

"I don't understand what you're getting at…" she whispered meekly.

"I'm a descendent of those demon slayers, of the Laida Clan - though, now we call ourselves the Ryder Clan. There are still evil spirits and demons in this world that need to be taken care of and somehow, you're able to sense them all on your own."

"...So?"

"So, I find that extremely fascinating. I don't think you're a monster," he clarified, "You're just a little girl born with an extraordinary ability that she doesn't understand. And the only reason everyone is afraid of you is because they don't understand it either."

"Are you afraid of me?"

"No," he answered.

"Well, you should be! I'm a freak, the Ghost Girl! And nobody wants me!" she shouted angrily, finally snapping.

"That's not true," Raymond said calmly. "Someone born with your gifts, it's a one in a million chance. That's why we've come all this way just to find you."

"Huh?" she gasped.

"My wife is in the next room finalizing your adoption. We'll be heading back to China at the end of the week… and we'd like you to come with us."

"Huh?" she asked again.

"I understand if you're hesitant. I've been informed that you were adopted several times already, but each time they brought you back. That won't happen again. You don't have to come with us if you don't want to, but if you do, we can help you understand your abilities and nurture them, help you control them."

"You say that… but how do I know you won't just send me back here? They always say how much they want me but then they just send me back here," she muttered angrily.

"I suppose nothing I say can convince you. I'll tell you what," he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a beautiful crystal pendulum necklace and holding it out in front of her. "I want you to take this, as a gift, one that you can keep regardless of what you decide."

"Wh-what is it?" she asked, inching over to reach out for the necklace. Raymond dropped the crystal into her tiny hands as she carefully examined it and was marveled by its beauty. She had never seen such an exquisite piece of jewelry before!

"It's a crystal pendulum. It's made from a special material that makes it especially sensitive to… the supernatural. Only someone with an extraordinary sixth sense can use it to lock onto specific energy signatures and track them down, someone like you." She gasped lightly and looked up at him in surprise. "Like I said, the adoption is being finalized, but you don't have to come with us if you don't want to. But if you do, your life will change in a way you never thought possible. My wife and I will be in the city until the end of the week," he said, standing up and making his way to the entrance where a woman stood waiting for him. "If you decide that you'd like to come with us, find us before three o'clock on Saturday."

"And how am I supposed to do that?" she asked.

"Use that gift of yours. Just keep a clear head and concentrate and your pendulum will lead the way," he smiled.

That wasn't the last she saw of the man named Raymond Ryder and his wife Rita. For two days she contemplated his offer. All the times before, the adoption was never her choice, but this man was giving the entire choice to her! She had been let down and hurt so many times before, so she was hesitant to go with them. But the way he spoke to her about her… "problem", or what he called a gift, it was like he knew what she was going through. Was he telling the truth? Could these people understand what she could do and help her? She had already taken so much rejection before. She had nothing to lose.

So, without so much as a goodbye to the caretakers, she took off from the orphanage to find the Ryders, with her only clue being the emblem Raymond had drawn for her and the pendulum that he said could help her find them. It took her hours to focus and concentrate - on what, she had no idea - before, to her amazement, the pendulum began floating out from her hand as she gripped the string it was on. She followed the way it pointed for several blocks as the time drew closer and closer to three o'clock, her deadline. She ran as fast as her tiny legs could carry her and as she rounded a corner, she spotted Raymond getting into a cab and shutting the door.

"Wait! Stop!" she cried as the cab began to pull away. No! This couldn't be happening! Her one chance to finally understand everything and it was leaving her! One of her shoelaces came undone as she frantically ran to catch up and she tripped, falling to the ground. She landed roughly, scraping her knees and forearms as well as scuffing her dress. In that moment, all the pain and sadness that she had bottled up for so long finally burst out. She sobbed uncontrollably on the sidewalk in despair that she had lost her chance after waiting too long. She heard footsteps approaching her, but didn't move nor did she stop crying. She didn't care who saw her weeping now.

"We were worried you weren't going to show." Her eyes instantly snapped open and she looked up, seeing Raymond standing over her. She leaned to the side to see the cab he was in had stopped as Rita stood next to the open door waiting for him. "But we're glad you did," he said, bending down to one knee and holding out his hand to her. She sniffled and rubbed her red and teary eyes before accepting his hand. Raymond tenderly lifted her up into his arms as she buried her wet face into his shoulder.

* * *

HONK!

"It's green! Move it, you wanker!" Renita was suddenly pulled from her thoughts when she heard a loud honk from the car behind her. She quickly looked up at the light and saw that it had turned green and quickly zoomed down the road.

"What was that, Red? You zoned out!" Dragen exclaimed from behind her.

"Nothing, just some old memories, that's all," she replied. They continued riding until she came down a residential street and stopped in front of one of the houses on the block. "Well, this is the address in the dossier."

"Heh, doesn't look haunted," Dragen commented.

"Because it's not. The assignment isn't an exorcism."

"Then what are we here for?" he asked.

"There's a family that lives in this house. They apparently found us through one of our previous clients that we helped. They have a young daughter… born like me."

"Like you? As in Sixth Sense?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yes. It was sent to me not because of proximity, but because as someone with the same power, they want me to approach the girl and assess her and, if possible, recruit her."

"We're recruiting now?"

"It's hard to say. The parents might object to it outright, so for now this is just an initial assessment on the parent's request," she said, walking up to the door and ringing the doorbell. A woman in a black dress and white apron, the maid, answered the door.

"Yes, may I help you?" she asked.

"My name is Rebecca and this is my partner David," Ren began as Dragen quickly turned his head in surprise.

"Oh, sorry, we don't want to buy anything," the maid began closing the door, but Ren held it open.

"We're not here to sell anything. I believe we're being expected," she said sternly.

"Oh, you're the… Come in," she said, opening the door and letting the pair in. "Just make yourselves comfortable and I will fetch the Mr. and Mrs."

"Well, looks pretty normal," Dragen said, plopping on the couch.

"Everything looks normal on the surface," she commented.

"By the way, 'David'?" he asked.

"Use of aliases is just being smart. Besides, who would believe that 'Dragen' is your real name?" she replied, sitting on a single chair. Dragen sat back up and began looking at the family photos on one of the bookshelves.

"Hey, this must be the family," he said, picking up and tossing the picture frame to Ren, who easily caught it. She gasped and her eyes shot wide when she looked at the photo.

"We have to leave, NOW!" she ordered, standing up from her seat.

"What? Why?"

"We just have to go!" she shouted, more urgently. But just as she reached the door, she heard a voice that she had not heard in over a decade that made her freeze in place.

"Oh, we're so glad you were able to make it here on such short notice!" an older man greeted happily. Ren's body shook intensely, but she took in a deep breath and calmed down.

"So, what seems to be the problem?" she asked calmly, keeping her back turned to the couple.

"It's our daughter, Temperance. Th-there's something wrong with her!" the woman cried.

"And what exactly is wrong with her?" Ren asked in a subtle but angry tone.

"Well, we're not entirely sure what it is. She keeps telling us that she sees ghosts and spirits everywhere she looks. We'll come into a room and the furniture will be knocked over and she'd tell us a ghost did it!" the husband explained.

As he spoke, Ren moved over to the shelf of photos that Dragen had pulled the first picture from, all the while keeping her face turned away from them. She spotted a familiar picture of a young girl with neat, shoulder length orange hair and blue eyes. She picked up the photo and examined it. The wife noticed and walked up to her. Thankfully, Ren's hair, which was always swept over to her left shoulder, hid her face. "Th-that's our other daughter. She… she's not with us anymore," she whispered sadly as she gently took the picture from Ren's hands.

"You mean she passed away?" Dragen asked.

The couple looked at each other with horror on their faces before casting their eyes down in shame. "No, w-we gave her up," the husband admitted.

"We didn't give her up, Henry! We abandoned her!" the wife yelled, clutching the picture tightly before quickly returning to address Ren and Dragen. "Temperance is our second child and these problems she's having… our first daughter had them as well."

"We thought she was mentally ill. We took her to doctors but none of their treatments worked! We just couldn't understand what was wrong with her! I-it became too much for us to bear so we… we left her at an orphanage and moved away." As Henry recounted this, his wife broke down into tears and fell to her knees, clutching the picture of the girl tightly. "We know what we did was wrong! We regret it every day of our lives! We've seen the news reports from all over the world. People saying that demons and magic exist! It made us realize that maybe we were wrong about her, that maybe she wasn't crazy."

"We made a mistake with her, we made a mistake abandoning her like that! W-we can't let that happen again!" the wife sobbed.

"Please, our friend said that your group deals with spirits and ghosts. Can you help our daughter?" Henry asked as he comforted his wife.

"I'll speak with her," Ren said plainly. "Where is her room?"

"Upstairs, first door on the right," Henry answered. Ren crossed the living room to the stairs, all the while still keeping her face visible from the couple. Dragen sat up to follow her, but she held her hand up to stop him. He nodded and sat back down as she disappeared up the stairs. She came up to the first door, which was decorated with stickers and drawings and a cursive written name, "Temperance". She knocked on the door.

"G-go away, mom!" a little girl cried from inside. Ren opened the door anyway and quickly scanned the interior of the room. It was small, but decorated with all sorts of stuffed animals and toys. "I said go away, mom!" Ren's eyes shifted to a large bundle under the covers on the single bed. Shutting the door behind her, Ren moved to the bed and sat on it next to the bundle.

"Hello Temperance," she spoke. The little girl, Temperance, quickly lifted up the covers when she didn't recognize Ren's voice. Alarmed, the little girl quickly shuffled to the headboard of her bed.

"Wh-who are you? Where are my mommy and daddy?" she asked. Ren didn't say anything at first. Instead, she stared at Temperance with wide and shocked eyes. Like her, Temperance had orange hair - though hers was a much lighter tone - and bright blue eyes.

"Your mom and dad are downstairs, Temperance. My name is Rebecca, but you can call me Ren."

"Who are you?" she asked again.

"Your parents asked me to come here and talk to you."

"Are you a doctor?" she asked.

"No. Have you seen many doctors?" Temperance nodded. "Well, I'm not a doctor, Temperance. I'm here to tell you that you're not a monster, that you're not a freak."

"You don't know what I am!" she shouted.

"You can see things that no one else can see! When people look at you, they think you're crazy. And everywhere you go, you get these odd feelings that something is near," Ren spoke.

"H-how did you know that?"

"I know because I can see them too."

"Y-you're lying! You're just saying you can so you can make fun of me! Everyone always makes fun of me!"

Ren closed her eyes. Temperance had clearly been teased about this a great deal. "I'm not lying. I know all of this because I went through the exact same thing you're experiencing now. You're a very lucky girl Temperance," Ren said with a smile. "Your parents are trying to help you, and that's more than what my parents did for me."

"What did your parents do?" she asked meekly.

"They couldn't understand what I could do and it scared them. Soon enough, I started to scare them. So, one day, they left me on the side of the road and never came back to get me. I want to show you something," Ren said, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a crystal pendulum almost identical to the one she wore around her neck.

"Wow, what's that?" Temperance asked, finally opening up a bit and inching closer towards her to look at the beautiful crystal.

"This is a crystal pendulum. It's made from a special material that makes it especially sensitive to magic. Only someone with an extraordinary sixth sense can use it to lock onto specific energy signatures and track them down, someone like you," she recited. "Let me show you." Ren hung the pendulum from her hand and closed her eyes. In a few seconds, the pendulum suddenly began floating and suddenly pointed straight up while Temperance watched in amazement.. "There's a spiritual presence here, bound to this house, the ghost of a man who used to live in this house. He's the one you keep sensing, isn't he?" Temperance nodded. "You may think it's a curse that you were born with, Temperance, but it's not. It's a very special gift and I want to help you understand it, the way someone once helped me. You don't have to decide right now, but I'd like you to consider my offer. If you'd like - and only if you'd like - you can come with me to a place where I can help you understand your powers, help you control them. You can keep this as a gift," she said, wrapping the pendulum in Temperance's little hands, "regardless of what your decision is. If you decide not to, then this will be the last you hear from us. But if you accept, find me by three days time."

"B-but how am I supposed to find you?" she asked timidly.

"Just use your power and the pendulum and it will lead the way. Take your time to decide, Temperance," she smiled, before leaving the room and returning downstairs. Henry and his wife quickly came over to Ren while she simply turned away and hid her face beneath her hair.

"H-how did it go?" Henry's wife asked, worried.

"This is not something that can be fixed overnight, nor will it just simply go away, no matter how much you wish it. Temperance will always have this power and there is only one solution."

"What?" asked Henry.

"The choice is hers, but if she wishes to understand and control her power, she must come with me."

"But we could go with her, r-right?" the wife asked.

"No, outsiders are not permitted."

"Y-you can't take away our daughter! She's all we have left!" Henry shouted.

"Let me make myself clear, you have no say in the matter!" Ren declared firmly. "The choice is entirely up to Temperance."

"You can't take our daughter away!" Henry protested again.

"Need I remind you that you called me here! You asked for my help! I've assessed your daughter's condition and given her the options. The next step is hers to make alone. You do not understand her nor what she is going through, so you have no say in the matter! The fact that you abandoned your first child because of the same reason only further proves my point! We're done here, David. Let's go," Ren said, making her way to the door. Dragen kept a respectable silence as they got to the motorcycle just outside the house. He climbed on the back with his helmet on while Ren put her helmet on as well.

"I know we're terrible parents! You don't have to say it! We abandoned our little girl when she needed us the most!" Henry's wife came running out of the house and fell to her knees on the sidewalk in tears. "We've lived with the guilt for years. We came back to get her, b-but we found that the orphanage had closed down and sh-she was already adopted!" she wailed.

"We don't deserve Temperance, but we vowed not to make the same mistake with her as we did with our first daughter," Henry said as he came out and carefully helped his wife up.

"We hired private investigators to try and find her, but the people who took her… their documents were all forgeries! There was no trace left of our little girl!" she sobbed.

Ren said nothing as she climbed onto her motorcycle in front of Dragen and started it up. With her visor up, she turned towards the couple and for the first time since she walked into their house, she finally looked at their faces. What she saw nearly broke her heart: a couple completely torn and devastated by something they did in the past. But the hurt and pain they caused had been too great and Ren had vowed to never forgive them. "No matter how hard you look for her, you'll never find her," she said as the couple looked up to her in shock and confusion.

"Wh-what do you mean?" Henry asked. "What do you know about our daughter?"

With a stern gaze, she declared loudly over the sound of her motorcycle's engine, "Prudence Kingsley doesn't exist anymore!"

"W-we never said what her name was. How did you?" the wife asked before suddenly stopping mid sentence and gasping as she looked into Ren's eyes, the only part of her face she could see with the helmet on. "Y-you're…" Before she could say anything else, Ren slid the visor down and bolted down the road on her motorcycle.

* * *

The pair sat outside another cafe deeper into the city. They sat in complete silence as Dragen tried to find the right moment to start talking. "So, I know I haven't been doing this as long as you have, but that wasn't exactly routine, was it?"

"No," she replied simply.

"How'd you know what their other daughter's name was?"

"...Isn't it obvious?" Ren asked.

Dragen leaned back into his chain and sighed heavily with wide eyes as the realization hit him. "The child they abandoned… that was you."

"And now it seems I have a little sister with the same power as me. Perhaps they're both descended from Chi Wizards or slayers… or perhaps this is just a huge coincidence. Two in a million," she commented.

"What are you going to do?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"I'm simply giving Temperance the same choice that I was given as well as the same task and manner of finding me. It is a test both of her commitment to the choice as well as the extent of her abilities. When the deadline hits, I'll have my answer."

"But what about your parents?" Dragen asked.

"They are not my parents!" Ren insisted, slamming her fist on the cafe table causing the dishes and cups to jump. Dragen nearly jumped out of his seat at her sudden outburst. "Parents are supposed to love you, nurture you and protect you. All Henry and Evelyn Kingsley did was abandon me and make me feel like something was wrong with me. My parents are and always will be Raymond and Rita Ryder," she declared firmly.

"But they said they tried to find you."

"Dragen, I was in that orphanage for over three years before the Ryders came for me. I spent a whole year waiting at the window for their car to show up, but they never came. They had three years to change their mind and come back for me, but they didn't. I'm not about to just forgive them for what they did because they're feeling guilty."

"And they're beating themselves up about!" he added, trying to sway her.

"Frankly, they're not suffering enough in my opinion. The only consolation was that it led me to join the Ryder Clan, but that doesn't mean I forgive them! It doesn't mean it didn't hurt. Temperance will be better off without them holding her back."

"Are you saying that objectively or as her sister?" he asked.

"Objectively. She has nothing to gain by being around narrow minded people who can't understand her."

"But they're at least trying to understand her. Doesn't that count for something?"

"To her, perhaps, but that's why the decision is hers to make. I won't force her to come with me if she doesn't want to. I'm not changing my mind, Dragen. There's nothing you can say that will make me want to go back there and reconnect with them. I have nothing good to say to them."

Dragen sighed. "You're just as stubborn as me. But I love that about you. Ok, I won't say anything more about it." They sat in silence, eating their food, before Dragen spoke up again. "So your name was really Prudence?"

"It means 'good judgement'. It's an awful sounding name, but I suppose it does fit, doesn't it?. Along with Temperance, it's one of the four Cardinal virtues."

"Well, Renita sounds better, but I prefer Red," he smirked.

Ren cracked a smiled as she chuckled under her breath. "As do I. That's why I chose Rentia as my new name. It's not required for Ryder recruits to change their names, but when I was made a full fledged hunter at fourteen, mom and dad asked me what I wanted as a present. I wanted a new name. Prudence Kingsley was a sad, lonely girl that nobody wanted and I never wanted to be her again. I cast aside every single reminder of my old life and fully embraced my new purpose as a Ryder slayer. I don't even have an English accent anymore. You once called my 'extreme' loyalty to them indoctrination, but I disagree. When I was at my lowest point, they came and took me in. They gave me everything and more, so I resolved to give them nothing less in return."

"Are you going to force Temperance to abandon her old life?"

"No. That was my choice. She doesn't even have to join the Ryder Clan if she doesn't want to. But she will stay with me until I deem her fully trained in controlling her power. Then, she's free to return to her parents if she wishes."

"Are you going to tell her that you're her sister?" Dragen asked next.

Ren sighed and looked off into the horizon. "I don't know. What would it matter anyway? What would it change? We just have to see now if Temperance can find me."

* * *

 **Ren was another one of those character we made that I didn't want to explore the backstory of - she's the third one so far - but as much as I tried to keep her backstory free, my brain just refused to listen to me. Ren's character as a whole was largely inspired/based on Anna Kyoyama from Shaman King. Her character wasn't very developed in the anime as it was in the manga, which really painted Anna in a far different light. Seriously, the manga is better, check out Shaman King.**

 **So, I hope you enjoyed this epilogue and keep your eyes out... for Arc 5 coming... at some point in the future. What will it be about, some of you may ask? Well, the least I can do is provide you with a little tidbit.**

 **The Shadow Strikers have been agents of Section 13 for 5 years under Captain Black, but when a new captain, Cassandra Fox, takes over, she implores more questionable methods and a distrustful attitude to demons. When the Strikers are framed for an attack on Section 13, they have no choice but to go into hiding and figure out Fox's plans, like why she's so interested in searching for more half-human, half-demons on Earth.**


End file.
